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The Spirit of St. Brigid Is Here.....

2012-02-02T08:14:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I posted a poem for St. Brigid's day. It is the next post down from this one and it was written as a plea to St. Brigid to help protect our rapidly depleting boreal and tiaga forests that make up the northern ring of trees around the earth. I finished posting on blogger and skipped over to facebook to post a blog connect from facebook. I went to my news feed first and found this picture staring at me through the trees.

When I am out driving and I stop at a light, If the car in front has a bumper sticker that says God loves Me, I understand it as a message from God and it always makes me feel warm and peaceful inside. The timing of finding this on my facebook news feed this morning, placed exactly where the screen was poised to show the contents totally startled me.

My friend Jim is an environmental advocate and always has two or three pictures or posts on my facebook newsfeed everyday. The coincidence that THIS particular pic was posted by him on my feed within the few minutes I came back from my blog, is unsettling to say the least. I do not know the origin of this picture, so I do not know if it was originally intended to be a likeness of St. Brigid..... that would really freak me out!! It was weird enough just seeing it there on my feed.

So, I am taking this to mean, St. Brigid also cares about the ring of northern forests as she was born into part of it in Kildare, Ireland, around 450 C.E., to a Druid family. I am also am taking this to mean she will help to protect the ring of forests and that was my prayer.

This little incident is not in the same league as bleeding statues of the blessed virgin, but it's about "as close as I want to come" to any divine spirits lurking about. Thank you St. Brigid for hearing my plea, my prayer.

The Northern Ring - A Plea to St. Brigid

2012-02-01T10:04:00.000-05:00

The ring of earth shines northward, from Nottingham, Kiev, Vancouver and Kildare.
From boreal to taiga, it's trees grow dark;
Down into the deep crevices of ever expanding roots.
While branches are continually thrust upwards into the blue carbonated skies.
Swaddled there,in their own misty biomes
Moist leaf clusters continuously sprout stubby, spruce, needles.

Leaf clusters, whose refulgence from space, have a luster
Like trillions of slivered diamonds packed into
Trillions of open cargo crates for almonds,
They perch, and purposefully reflect the heat of the sun.
They cool their place on earth while collectively shading
Their cold, underground root tunnels that burrow
Deep, down into the arable, nitrous earth.

The ring of earth connects in a vertex under the roads
Running northward from Nottingham, Kiev, Vancouver and Kildare.
This vertex of roots, joined in an intricate celtic knot,
Whose tentacles protect neighboring trees and saplings,
Extend ever outwards, absorbing water.
Waters from the swaddling mists, waters from the falling rains,
Waters from the snow-melt rivers,
Waters from deep inside the sacred wells, where clooties hang on branches.

The ring of earth grows large,
In lofty places, as forests grow large, extending
Northward from Nottingham, Kiev, Vancouver and Kildare.
Boreal wood fibers, long and sinewy,
Perfect for paper production, are taken there.
Spruce, stripped by ringed cutters and felled,
The clear cut acres seen from space resemble dry, lusterless, spots on the ring.
Reports from daily papers indicate, demand
(even factoring in rigorous recycling), far exceeds supply.
With few spaces left, these forests are no longer
A renewable resource, our needs are that insatiable.

Reaching inward to the pulp, fibers are pulled free from trunks
In a watery, chemically-infused separating process
Their textures sometimes bleached, then woven into
Matte, silk and glossy finishes and sold.
The buyer, running the rolled, papered sheets through a printing press,
Fashions the volumes, the words into poetry books.
I found them today, lying on a shelf, covered in dust.

-------------------------------

St. Brigid of Kildare, our Patron Saint of poetry, sacred wells and printing presses,
Protect too our boreal forests from depletion and from fire. Let the diamond clustered needles
shine outward to eternity, let the forests' root vertex always expand protectively,
And please help our poetry to flourish and be enjoyed by generations yet to come.

Canada's boreal forest comprises about one third of the circumpolar boreal forest that rings the northern hemisphere, mostly north of the 50th parallel
clootie. cloth strip tied to trees surrounding wells
Kildare Ireland 53 degrees north latitude

Magpie Tales: Holst - Jupiter/Kandinsky

2012-01-29T18:39:00.002-05:00

This music goes with my Magpie Tales poem. I did not include it and later had regrets about that decision. So enjoy. Gustav Holst, The Planets; Jupiter, Conductor Eiji Oue is leading the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra. My poem is just below the music.

An Attempt at Theory

2012-01-29T14:33:00.000-05:00

The year after Holst debuted his planets
With the London Symphony
You painted this,
Like a tribute to Holst and to Jupiter
The jovial planet.

Lyrical and dramatic lines
Lead us all the way around the canvas to
The big red spot, where the shapes
Boomerang us back to the melody.
A warm and happy place.

There is yellow tension in the harmonies
Of the heavy brasses
And a linear lightness in values of the strings
The inner beauty of the solar music
Leaps from your canvas
And breathes a new life there.

Did you listen while you brushed?

This poem is linked to Magpipe Tales, HERE

The Fossil Fuel Mandate Blues

2012-01-15T17:24:00.005-05:00

taylor, jason decaires

I've got the Fossil Fuel Mandate Blues,
I heard the broadcast on the evening news...
The Arctic ice is melting but I wonder who will care?
It's releasing tons of methane gas into the Arctic air.
The herds of caribou are declining in their numbers
But the mandate here in Ottawa really is a bummer
And northward near the tar sands, between the carbon and the spills
Many local residents are sick or gravely ill
The fallout from your policies are getting to me too,
I've got the Fossil Fuel Mandate Blues.

I've got the Fossil Fuel Mandate Blues
We dissed Kyoto on the late night news....
Our ambassadors pulled out and caught Durban by surprise
Without our country's signature, the oceans waters rise
The island archipelagos are starting to submerge
The mandate here in Ottawa really is a scourge
And southward in the ocean, some people worked with clay
They sculpted figures in the water, expressing their dismay
There are no signs of mandate changes, not even on the news,
I've got the Fossil Fuel Mandate blues.

The mandate means to sell our crude to China
We need some tankers and a lengthy pipe
They claim the chance of accidents is minor,
I'm weary and run down from all this hype.

I've got the Fossil Fuel Mandate Blues,
I read the headlines in the daily news...
Make some reparations.
Yes, it's kind of late to start....
But the earth needs a NEW mandate, needs some help and needs your heart.
Sign on to the Accord now, Ottawa can be the change,
Create some eco energy.... see what can be arranged.
And northward near the tar sands, beneath the permafrost
There will be new beginnings, making up for what was lost.
Sea water will decline once more.
I'll see it on the news,
And no longer will I need to sing
The Fossil Fuel Mandate Blues.

This is a Magpie Tale. To read more or participate, click here!

Soldier, Welcome Home from Afghanistan

2011-11-11T20:57:00.000-05:00

Ode to Remembrance
They went with songs to the battle, they were young.
Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them. Laurence Binyon

The battle in Afghanistan is coming to a close and the soldiers are returning home, except for some troops who need to stay behind to keep the peacemaking stable and to train the new Afghani recruits. It is good news for Canada that we are able to pull out some of our military personal. Mommies and daddies are reunited and children all over Canada get their parents back. Yay!!

It's been a long dirty war for us, especially with the road mines. We lost many heroes in armored tanks patrolling the Afghanistan roadways only to get blown up. One hundred and fifty-eight soldiers were killed during this mission.

On this Remembrance Day, I would like to thank all of Canada's Armed Forces for standing up and protecting us from aggression and intimidation when it happens. You put yourselves in harms way and I am grateful. To all of my relatives and relatives of my friends, present and past, who lost your lives in battle, and those who came home from war wounded and scarred, I am thankful for your bravery.

I have included in this blog, a song from Bob Reid to welcome all of you home. It's a hopeful song to sing on Remembrance Day. The mission is over. Peace returns.

Alas, I am not in "their number" for the march in.

2011-11-01T01:54:00.000-04:00

"Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy."
-St. Francis

I went to the Catholic web site to look up saints tonight. All Saints Day has dawned and I am not Catholic, and I don't know very much about saints. I was kind of interested in female saints because I wondered if there were many. Oh my, yes there are!!!

At the site,there is a very long list of female saints, so rather vainly, I looked up Linda. Sorry. There is not ONE female saint named Linda. No Saint Linda. Ha, that's okay. I have a middle name... Diane. Sorry. There is not one female saint named Diane. Yes, there is Diana, but not a Saint Diane.

My sister Margaret Anne is much more fortunate. There is a plethora of St. Margarets and two St. Annes. Even my friend Gladys has a saint name! Then I wondered, if a person has a saint that they are named after, are they required to emulate the qualities of that saint? Perhaps I am lucky that I am not required to emulate saintly deeds.

Oh sure, people have used the expression, "You're a saint, Linda!" when they are appreciative of something I did, but most of what I do never feels particularly saintly to me. I just do things that need done.

Since I love trees and birds so much, I do admire St. Francis of Assisi. He of course was not a female, but he is always referenced as a naturalist. During his life 1181-1226, he took a vow of poverty and apparently died while reading Psalm 141. It would feel strange to think of myself as a "Francis" and not a "Linda". However, I am being vain since I can think of nothing I have done so extraordinary in my life that would qualify me to even be considered for sainthood.

Take some time to enjoy "All Saints Day" today and it is interesting to consider saintly acts that are interesting or acts you may aspire to emulate. The Jazz standard,"When the Saints Go Marching In" is always associated with Louis Armstrong. Louis IS a saint name. There is a St. Louis.... a city in the midwest of America, named after the actual saint, who was kind to the poor and a patron of medieval art. I consider Louis Armstrong to also have saintly qualities and he definitely would be "in their number" when the saints go marching in. The rendition of the song I have posted today includes Danny Kaye and is an upbeat and fun version. Enjoy.

Thanksgiving Fades.......

2011-10-17T00:16:00.002-04:00

There is a French proverb that says, "Autumn is the hush before winter...."

On the weekend, my colleagues and I enjoyed an overnight retreat in the village of Haliburton, Ontario. This country hamlet weaves itself around a few lakes and rivers and is nestled close to the southern most border of the Great Canadian Shield.

Granite rocks are evident through out the hills and vales of Haliburton. A mix of birch, maple and cedar forests compete with the cottage properties in the area for their place along the shoreline of area lakes.

I was in fact visiting at this lovely cottage on the south shore of Drag Lake just outside the boundaries of Haliburton village, belonging to my teaching buddy Susan and her husband Ry. Susan graciously extends invitations to the girls she worked with, to visit her lakeside retreat annually. The last time we visited, spring was busy warming up to summer. This time, fall was fading fast and so chilly, wet blustery days kept us indoors most of the time.

We did venture out on a shopping expedition on Saturday. The quaint shops of the village were decorated in autumnal themes.

Haliburton is a well known centre for fine art, with indoor and outdoor galleries and exhibits, a college that offers courses in all sorts of creative expressions and then there are the local residents of the recent past, who made well documented contributions to the Canadian Art scene. Ethel Curry of Curry's Art Supply for one, had ties to the Group of Seven and is known through most of southern Ontario. Many shops we visited sold works from local artisans and early Christmas shopping began in ernest. We had fun looking for sales and items not easily located in the malls and the big box stores back home in the city.

I woke up an hour earlier than the other guests Sunday morning and I used my time to explore the woods and nearby lakefront with my camera. Inspired by my blogging friend Reya, I tried to emulate her eye for interesting views and textures. I liked these shots her work inspired.

These leaves were perched high on branches and shone in the crimson and gold light of the Thanksgiving sun last weekend. Now they lie in layers..... fading fast, on the ground.

A puddle full of colorful leaves along the cottage road, reflecting the empty tree from whence the leaves fell.

A sudden splash of morning sun lights up the left side of this peeling bark, birch tree.

This quiet, mid-autumn landscape boasts few of the golden colors of the warm summer and early fall. It speaks instead of a quiet place, whose burnt russets and mixed grey tones sit sleepily waiting, ready to be tucked.... in a gentle way, by the soft, floating blanket of early winter snows.

When the wild goose called out to me, I tried to spot his location but he was too well camouflaged to snap a photo. When the pileated woodpecker knocked on a nearby tree, my camera was packed in it's case and the bird found a hiding place obscured from my lens. When the young doe bounded across the road home, just ahead of my vehicle, the camera was packed away in a tight, cranny of the car's trunk. I am confident my photography can only improve, especially if I keep the camera with me and ready to run.

For this blog I wanted to include a version of "Simple Gifts" and the best you tube had to offer in my opinion, is from Obama's Inauguration. Although it is from Copland's Appalachian Spring, it reminds me of Thanksgiving. I like to listen to the music at this time of year. Enjoy it with me.... and look at the pics once again while you listen.

A Note For Tess

2011-10-12T23:05:00.000-04:00

Dear Tess,

We have left the tent up behind the Manor. We Installed tables and chairs and have set up for brunch tomorrow. Steven can set up by the river or in the tent and folks can use the tables to eat at. The Queen has left 8 attendants to help take the tent down and help with breakfast and clean up.

Love, Linda xoxoxo

Country Dancing in the Tent Behind Willow Manor

2011-10-12T15:57:00.000-04:00

We've set up the tent in the back of the manor again and you can see that Charles and Camilla are totally delighted!!

They have wanted a chance to dance some reels and they have brought Her Majesty along once more. For her age she can still paddy basque along with the best of them!!

The Royal Fusiliers have come along to provide some music and entertainment.

Do you need a dance partner? Look around and you might find someone suitable.

Here is a reel to get you started.

I am afraid it would be unsuitable to over dress for country dancing.... it would be difficult to do the reels dressed like this.....

At the Ball with the Beatles and other assorted Brits.

2011-10-12T02:37:00.000-04:00

The scope of this ball was feeling almost overwhelming, so David Garrett and I, with a few martinis, found a corner close to where the Beatles were playing. Their rendition of Mr. Moonlight was the perfect love song for this night of the beautiful moon.

As we gathered around a table, we noticed John Cleese and Eric Idle at the table behind us. They were acting very silly. Both had been drinking and were bloody hysterical.

Kate Winslet passing by the table, pretended not to notice their crazy antics. Still, all of us broke out in uproarious laughter when John and Eric stood up and took to the dance floor ...... together.

By the time these two arrived, a round of smoked salmon and caviar was being served and the silly antics became more subdued for a bit.

Finishing our plates of salmon and cavier, we wandered out to the terrace to peek at the moon.

See the blog below this one to view Linda's gown and shoes and to experience some of the talents of her "hot" date.

Wild in Ohio.........

2011-10-09T15:13:00.000-04:00

Wild Hare

Tufts of hairy crabweed
sprout from my temples
like crazy hemp
in a rabbit hole
of an all day tea party.

Tess Kincaid

The ALL DAY TEA PARTY, or at least the much anticipated cyber ball happens this week. Keep your calendar free on Wednesday and join the fun at Willow Manor. Get your dance card ready and bring a date, but you will also need the appropriate fancy dress clothing. The entire internet has wonderful garments, so make your choices, practice your moves and find your way to the comments at Willow Manor to keep up with the shenanigans. I might add here..... it is much more than just an all day tea party....... it usually lasts a few days...... where one begins to wonder about "crazy hemp" and "rabbit holes". The collective imaginations and sense of fun of the invited guests keeps you glued and wanting to contribute to the comments.

I found this dress.............. I loved the color.....

...... and these shoes..... so "Cinderella" like.

I am considering inviting David Garrett as my "hot" date. I think he's gorgeous. He may want to bring his orchestra/band along.

And.... if he's a pirate, does he know this man? Talk about "hairy crabweed!!!"

The Daughters of the Year Shall Dance!

2011-09-30T00:17:00.000-04:00

*To Autumn*

*William Blake (from Poetical Sketches, 1783)*

O Autumn, laden with fruit, and stain’d With the blood of the grape, pass not, but sit Beneath my shady roof; there thou may’st rest, And tune thy jolly voice to my fresh pipe, And all the daughters of the year shall dance! Sing now the lusty song of fruits and flowers.

Natasha my granddaughter is nearly 11 years old already. She is beginning her eighth year of violin at the Suzuki school across the river from her house. She loves to perform and has participated in duets, chamber ensembles, orchestras and frequently plays on her own. This year she is learning Johannes Brahms Hungarian Dances, a modified version suitable for her age group and level of competence. The music was originally written in 1869.

Autumn with it's rich colors encourages us to embrace the vibrancy of the outdoors and what could be more complimentary than dances from Hungary? The textures and fabric of the music strike chords that equal the vivid crimsons, golds and russets of an autumn woodland landscape. But this rendition by David Garrett evokes a playful, fun interpretation where the tempo dances from instrument to instrument. The ensemble includes band instruments for this lively performance. Enjoy!!

Yesterday at Willow Manor, the Manor Ball was announced and on the right side of my blog, the announcement is posted. It is a yearly event not to be missed in blogland, so dust off your dancing shoes and bring the daughters of the year to dance at the Willow Manor Ball.

HAPPILY EVER AFTERING

2011-05-24T11:01:00.017-04:00

"In short there's simply not, a more congenial spot for happily ever aftering,
than here in Camelot." Alan Jay Lerner

Before he went to Camelot, Griffin told me it would be a boring play. I was surprised. "Boring," I queried? "Yes" he said, "It's a play about a parking lot for camels." Well, didn't I walk into that one!

We were off to the festival theatre in Stratford Ontario to see Camelot yesterday. We packed up the babies and grabbed the old ladies..... and off we all went. Hailey couldn't go because she was too little. Jeff stayed behind with her. We were NOT allowed to take pictures inside the Festival Theatre......... the set was copyrighted.

The drive to Stratford Ontario from Toronto means leaving the city and driving through farm country on the back roads of highway 7 and 8 from Kitchener, Ontario. It was a beautiful springtime drive. Relaxing and serene. And then there was 10 year old Tim in the back of the SUV........ trying to break the world record for phrase repetition...... "Are we there yet?" We laughed out "Nearly there! " so many times.

The reason we went was because the middle ages is part of the grade four curriculum in Canada and Natasha, Tim and Griffin, who are HUGE Harry Potter fans can't seem to get enough of those dragons, sword fights and magic that was so much a part of this time in history. They all love the mini series "Merlin" as well.

Camelot is a musical play by Alan Jay Lerner (book and lyrics) and Frederick Loewe (music). The play has it's base in the King Arthur legend, adapted from the T. H. White tetralogy novel,

The Once and Future King.

In the realm of Camelot, King Arthur has endeavored to create a utopian land of chivalry and civil rule. However, when his beloved Queen Guenevere and Sir Lancelot, his most trusted knight, become passionate for one another, Arthur faces a terrible dilemma that rocks his kingdom to its roots.

This rendition of the play was directed by Gary Griffin, which very much impressed our Griffin, whose name is actually Griffin Gray.

In the beginning scene, there was Merlin, played by Brent Carver, who started the play when he walked out on stage holding on to a live hawk. The hawk left Merlin, circled the stage and flew up into the rafters where it disappeared. The hawk and Merlin played to ooooo's and awwww's from the audience.

The first part of the play had quite a bit of easily understood humor, introductions of characters and the promise of exciting adventures. Tim and Griffin were taken in. Camelot however, is a musical and a love story first and foremost. As the play developed the boys kind of lost interest (the kissing and Maying wasn't their thing), but Natasha (the Lyrical One) who is nearly twelve, plays the violin and has romance in her soul, loved every minute of it!

The cast included Brent Carver (as Merlin and King Pellinore), Kaylee Harwood (as Guenevere), Jonathan Winsby (as Sir Lancelot) and Geraint Wyn Davies (as King Arthur)

"The show's first tryout was in Toronto, at the O'Keefe Centre in 1960. The curtain came down at twenty minutes to one in the morning; Lerner later noted that "Only Tristan and Isolde equaled it as a bladder endurance contest."[4] The morning papers, though kind, hinted that the show needed much work in order to succeed. Lerner was hospitalized with a bleeding ulcer and had to withdraw from preparations for a time. Moss Hart (director) then suffered a heart attack, and Lerner stepped in as temporary director for the rest of the out-of-town run at the behest of Kitty Carlisle Hart. Camelot then moved to Boston, nearly an hour and a half shorter, but still running

very long." Wikipedia

Because the play is SO long to perform, it never was a huge success opening on Broadway, even though the original cast included Julie Andrews, Richard Burton, Roddy Mc Dowell and Robert Goulet. To get more audience action, Ed Sullivan agreed to include performances from the play on his Sunday night show during the 1960's. How many times between "the Beatles" sets on the Ed Sullivan Show did we watch performances of Camelot? I seem to remember Robert Goulet on almost every week! And although I never saw the play performed until yesterday, I knew most of the songs, thanks in part to Ed Sullivan.

Poor Jeff was left at the hotel, entertaining Hailey the two year old, expecting us back between 4:30 and 5:00 pm. at the latest. The play didn't get out until 5:30 pm. So we rushed back and were unable to get any real visiting, pictures or shopping done during this visit. I was very glad we didn't have to endure the 1960's rendition that went on for an hour and a half longer. The kids would have been toast!

A final romantic inclusion for this play of course, is the association of Camelot with the years John Kennedy was president. Since no royalty exists in the republic of the United States, prominent political families are sometimes celebrated as a "kind of royalty". The Kennedy family would be one such family.

The Kennedys' were apparently fond of these words,

"Don't let it be forgot... that once there was a spot, for one brief, shining moment,

that was known as Camelot." Alan Jay Lerner

Here is a small excerpt, a token I'm allowed to share at this time from yesterday. Enjoy!

Hats Off to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge!!!

2011-04-30T21:46:00.004-04:00

"Her hat is a creation that will never go out of style; it will just look ridiculous year after year."
Fred Allen

Well, just in case you were thinking "The Art of Millinery" has waned or that it might be a dying art, think again! The Royal Wedding yesterday proved that hats (at least for ladies) are alive and well. They are living on the heads of women of the aristocracy, the royal invited guests. Heather Mallick, columnist for the Toronto Star has written a hilarious column "Is that an octopus on your head?" which you can read by clicking on this link:

TheStar Royal wedding hats: Is that an octopus on your head?

From Krista Wick at Getty Images, here are a sample of the hats Heather Mallick was speaking about.

And just like this curious little monkey who always wanted to know what was under the big yellow hat?

Well by George, yesterday it was "Her Majesty, the Queen" of course!!

So, here is a tribute from Frank Sinatra and Natalie Cole, for all of those interesting millinery delights of the morning of matrimony, April 29th, 2011. "They Can't Take That Away From Me". No, they can never take that "CRAZY" hat display back, ever!

Raffi, Heather and I want YOU to Vote on May 2nd.

2011-04-20T11:44:00.000-04:00

Democracy must be something more than *three wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. James Bovard

This blog goes all the way back to 1979, when my babies Heather and Kathy were only little. We had just moved back to Toronto from Powassan, a small town just south of North Bay. (It's snowing up there today. ) When we lived in Powassan, baby Heather and her sister Kathy went to Friendly Kiddies Nursery School. That was when they first started listening to Raffi.

Do you remember Raffi? He sang a plethora of children's songs and Heather and her sister Kathy spent their young childhood singing and dancing to the songs of Raffi. We listened on records back then. We had two Raffi thirty three and a thirds.

Altogether, there were 35 songs on these two albums. Nineteen on the first album and sixteen on the second album. We shared our recordings with the nursery school and they shared theirs with us. Heather and Kathy LOVED these songs. Favourites were, "Five Green and Speckled Frogs", "Shake My Sillies Out", "Wheels on the Bus" and "Robin in the Rain".

You can find a selection of Raffi songs if you want to listen, on you tube here

After we moved back to Toronto, we lived uptown at Yonge and Bloor in the Uof T married students residences, affordable housing. Barry got his masters and I worked at Pizza, Pizza (nights) to help support the family. Times were tight, but we persevered. Our two girls started going to a full day nursery school programme at St. Andrew's Church, just down the street from where we lived. And one day, Raffi came to visit that nursery school! Baby Heather was "awestruck"! Raffi invited her over to sit on his lap while he sang her one of his new songs that we didn't know. It was a memorable moment for all of us, even though there was no picture taking allowed.

From there, Raffi books came out with pictures and words to all of his songs. You could sing the songs while reading the books. Now, Kathy's daughter Hailey has "The Wheels on the Bus" and we were singing it all together just a couple of weeks ago. My all time Raffi favorite song will always be "Baby Beluga". I still have a hard cover copy of that song book. It is worn and has been well used. It is missing a page, but it is a very loved book! The money Raffi got from producing that song, went to help the plight of the Beluga Whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. They were all dying of pollution and cancer, even back in the 1980's and 1990's. Raffi is an inspiration to people who want to sing meaningful songs for children, for people who care about our earth and for people who care about keeping a sense of community in their neighborhoods.

So what did I find on Heather's facebook page this morning?

Today, Raffi has a message for all of the Canadians who grew up listening to his songs. He wants all of you to "Get Out and Vote on May 2nd". He is not saying he supports any particular party, he just wants you to vote. If you want to keep a democracy in Canada, voting is important. Grown-up Heather and I think voting is important too.

Even though most Canadians say they are voting for one of the *three wolves, my vote is going with the sheep. * the original quote had two wolves

The Lyrical One

2011-04-15T17:09:00.001-04:00

“Music is an essential part of everything we do. Like puppetry, music has an abstract quality which speaks to a worldwide audience in a wonderful way that nourishes the soul.”- Jim Henson

On Monday in Guelph there was Kiwanis.

Kiwanis is a world wide organization, and every year in April, they sponsor programs that enrich the lives of children. In Canada every April, musical children gather to perform for a Kiwanis adjudicator who observes the child's work. After the performance, the adjudicator tells the child how wonderful the performance was, things the child can practice and continue to work on, and the child is given a certificate to keep.

The Lyrical One, pictured above, gave two performances for Kiwanis. I love to watch her perform, so I went to Guelph on Sunday and stayed over to make sure I wouldn't miss either one. The Lyrical One has been playing with the Suzuki Violin School since she was four years old. Now that she is ten, there is more complexity to the pieces she performs. She also needs to demonstrate that her skill and finesse playing the violin is developing as it should.

Watching her performances over the years, I have learned much about playing the violin myself. I love the way The Lyrical One walks onto the stage, does her introductions and ever so smartly dances her bow over the strings with wonderful confidence! She plays in an orchestra, a chamber group and she also does solo performances. During Kiwanis, no one is allowed to tape the performances or take any pictures. The picture above was taken during an earlier Suzuki recital. I used this picture because Kiwanis happened in the same place with the same piano accompanist.

For the morning solo performance, The Lyrical One played the Gavotte by Martini. It is the violin piece from You Tube I have included below. You will have to just imagine she is the one playing in the piece. For the afternoon performance, she played a duet for violin and cello. The two short selections were Chamber Music by Handel entitled Bourree and Minuet. Each performance was about five minutes in length. It was a long space of time for a ten year old to keep her concentration, especially during the afternoon performance. That was when she played her duet and so she had her partner's concentration to consider too.

I have to say as an unbiased Grandma, that for both performances The Lyrical One (whom I love to bits), played her violin brilliantly! I was very impressed with her ability to play the notes, keep her timing, use dynamics, learned techniques and also to follow her cues.

BRAVO!!!

The Lyrical One has aliases. She is also known as Natasha Serenity and apparently,

Little Miss Chatterbox.

As you are enjoying the Gavotte by Martini, it might occur to you that this post reminds you of something you might experience at the Smiling Heart, my friend Jo's blog. Jo is often writing about her daughter, the Graceful One, who performs ballet brilliantly. I modeled my blog today after Jo's because it is a blog about performance and Jo is very skilled at putting together performance oriented blogs. You can visit her blog here.

The Gavotte, in this clip is high spirited like a spring walk on a cool, crisp, sunny afternoon. Enjoy.

The Trip Home from Guelph.

2011-04-13T12:35:00.001-04:00

I hate to keep blathering on about politics. There is so much more to life. Quite frankly at this moment in time though, I am desperate for some changes right here in Ontario. I need better access to my grandchildren. Traveling Ontario without a car is next to impossible. It cannot be done within a reasonable amount of time and I totally blame the government for this appalling situation.

Yesterday, I wanted to return to Toronto from Guelph. Guelph is about an hour away by car. One hour. If a person is NOT driving, there are a variety of interesting options. There are GO buses, GO trains, a VIA train, Greyhound buses, a mixture of some of these possibilities and/or I could hitchhike.

The VIA train was out. It would get me to Toronto in an hour for $27. That old hunk-of-junk train with mechanical issues, leaves Guelph twice a day at nine in the morning and eleven at night. Neither time was convenient. Check out time at the hotel isn't until 11 am. The service at the hotel restaurant is slow at the best of times and getting a cab to the station for nine am. is a hassle. I wanted to skip the VIA option and try an alternative form of transportation. The Greyhound bus was an option. The times were more convenient and the price was the same. The bus would have delivered me to Union Station in an hour and I could get the GO train home from there. I had a few bus issues and I wasn't that keen.

The final option was GO. GO stands for Government of Ontario........ need I say more? It's NOT a system for traveling Grandmas........ it's a system built for voting commuters. However, the GO bus could be used by Grandmas or maybe just by idiots. The GO bus use to travel to Guelph along the 401 corridor and get you to Guelph in about an hour. I was good with that. NOW, because of what the government sees as "better access to service", the GO bus takes a less direct route, stopping in Acton, Georgetown, Brampton and then Toronto, which is now a three hour journey. Three hours on a bus, how convenient for Grandmas is that???

My only option left was the GO train. Lucky for me, the GO train service extends to Milton which is a small town that is only a fifteen minute drive from Guelph. Just before noon, Heather and I drove to Milton, went to Cora's for lunch and then arrived at the GO train station. The short drive along the 401 corridor to Milton was rife with millions of transport trucks, driving in every lane except the inside lane. The inside lane on the 401 is the lane of choice for tailgating yahoos (without road rules). We were very happy to exit at Milton.

Arriving in the parking lot at the GO train station, we encountered a sea of parked cars. To the north we could see tons of transport trucks, carrying their cargo along the 401 to destinations in Toronto and Montreal. To the south we could see a freight train traveling along the shared GO train track. The freight train had many cars but it carried nothing. The ghostly shapes of freight boxes outlined in metal, made up the structure of the train, through which we had framed vignettes of the spring countryside. There were less cargo supports than seen in the picture below, but the train carried about 50 of these empty cars.

Perhaps if some of those cargo boxes were taken off the transport trucks congesting the highway and put aboard the empty train, the highway would be safer, the air would be cleaner and the cargo would arrive just as quickly. Building a functional rail system for transportation in Canada was THE "Canadian Dream" once upon a time. However, it isn't something Stephen Harper or Michael Ignatieff dream about today. I am just as positive Dalton McGuinty (Ontario government leader) isn't dreaming of a functional rail service for Ontario either, with the ONE exception of satisfying the needs of voting commuters.

The GO train station in Milton, we found out upon arrival, is only open from 5 am. to 8 am. and there was nowhere to purchase a ticket. It was 3 pm. There was a GO bus arriving that would have taken me to the Oakville GO train. From there, I could have caught a GO train home. Heather, a little frustrated from trying to locate a parking space, said no and decided to drive me home. There was some traffic congestion along the way and it took longer than an hour to get me home. I made pasta for dinner and Heather waited until seven thirty (after rush hour) to head back to Guelph. She arrived home safely.

Elizabeth May dreams about a functional rail service for Canada. So do Heather and I. When the jet fuel runs out or becomes extremely pricey, it will be too late to START building a rail system so vast and expensive and so good for Grandmas. We should have kept the "National Dream" alive all along. Heather and I did not watch the debates last night. We were too busy just trying to survive and arrive alive in Stephen Harper's Canada.

Of Course I Got My Autograph!!

2011-04-08T15:52:00.001-04:00

This morning, I pulled myself out of bed before the dawn and got myself ready. Black pants, green turtle neck for warmth, white turtle neck over green turtle neck, the Green Party official t-shirt, my green woolly jacket, my Green Party button and my Green Party bag and off I went. When I got to the local train station, a few party members were lurking about. They pointed me to track two and I went up the stairs and waited.

The train arrived, Elizabeth May stepped off the train and I went running over and said,

"Can I please get an autograph?" She replied, "Of course you can!!!" We hugged, she autographed my book. Our Candidate, Alonzo Bartley got a photo. The press were there and they got photos. Elizabeth and I posed for a few shots. We were on CP 24, this morning. Perhaps we will be in the local news. She was giving out packs of sunflower seeds which I will plant in my garden.

She was so nice, so approachable, so happy to be doing her whistle-stop tour and so appreciative of our turn out. She was only there a few minutes and after all the passengers were boarded on the train, it departed for points east. It was so exciting!!!! I was reminded of the last federal election when Elizabeth May stopped at Union Station and we had a rally at the Hockey Hall of Fame. That was the first time I met her.

My book that Elizabeth May wrote, now has some new words inside. They say,

"To Linda, Thanks!" Elizabeth May

I said, "Thank you Elizabeth May". Are Stephen, Michael or Jack this approachable? I'm not thinking
so. And those guys aren't making it easy for Ms. May to participate in this election.

so.

Losing Confidence: A Book Review

2011-04-04T12:28:00.000-04:00

Losing Confidence A book by Elizabeth May 2009

I am so excited!!! If you know me, you know my very favorite two Canadians (besides family) are Dr. David Suzuki and Elizabeth May. Yesterday on my facebook page, Alonzo (local candidate) posted a comment that Elizabeth May, traveling on her whistle-stop tour of Canada, will be pulling into my local train station on Friday evening at 7 pm. I've met her before a couple of times. I facebook with her occasionally and I vote for her ALWAYS.

I read her book Losing Confidence last year, while I was sitting at Princess Margaret's waiting, while my husband Barry received his 5 hour chemo treatments. Ms. May has written seven books, most are about devastating environmental issues. This one, Losing Confidence, is about the state of Canada's federal political system. My political agenda? I would like my book autographed. It is a very short whistle-stop at my local station I am told, but an autograph could be possible. I have my hopes up.

In her book on page 15, Ms. May speaks about the roots of Canada's parliamentary democracy originating in Britain, on the field at Runnymede with the signing of the Magna Carta 1215 CE. Over time, the Houses of Parliament developed, one house for commoners and one for Lords. It wasn't long before a Speaker of the House was needed. The industrial revolution brought work and money to large populations and with it came the rise of the middle class. The role of parliament became more formalized.

Ms. May's point in her book, is Canada's parliamentary system is hundreds of years old and it is not reflecting our values anymore. The voting system elects the person with the most votes in every riding. When two parties are running, this system of voting works. When the system allows more than two parties, as Canada's system does, the vote gets split too many ways. Most of the votes wind up with many candidates and the elected individual does not get the majority of votes. Say there are 30 votes in my riding and 5 people running. Steve gets 8 votes, Liz gets 7 votes, Mike gets 6 votes, Jack gets 5 votes, Gilles gets 4 votes. Out of 30 votes, Steve gets elected even though he only received 8 votes out of a possible 30. This isn't a fair representation of voters wishes. This system needs adjusted. Adjustments can be made, they are discussed in the book, they are complex and not without glitches, but they are worth investigating and trying. It's all about change over time.

Another issue is fairer representation in the House of Commons. There are not enough women represented, people of varying ages represented, First People's represented, disabled people represented nor ethnic minorities represented. Parliament does not reflect even minimally our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Yet every other workplace in Canada is required to reflect these rights in their employees. We need to fix this issue too, especially if we want Parliament to debate real issues affecting real people.

When Canadians have these faults within their parliamentary system and continue to pretend they don't, the politicians with the most financial backing, run attack ads so voters will become apathetic and not vote. This pretty much guarantees the party with the most money wins the election because they can afford the most advertising. When Canadians have these faults within their parliamentary system, the Prime Minister can come out and say things like, "Your only choice in this election is to vote for a Conservative majority." And apparently they can also say things like, "Canadians don't care about what we discuss in Parliament."

"The Magna Carta said that the King was not the law, nor above the law. " pg. 16

Unfortunately, in 1215, there were no Prime Ministers. Some PM's like to think they own the country!

No one likes change. Change, especially the changes mentioned here, seem to be throwing out our much loved traditions. What needs thrown out is the way we run the system, not the values of the system. The values of the system call for fair representation and Canada doesn't have that any more. Going back to 1215 CE, fairer representation is what the Magna Carta was all about. Canada needs change if we want to continue to call ourselves a democracy. This is what Elizabeth May's book is about. If you find politics dry and difficult, you will like me, struggle to comprehend parts of this book. Woven into the text however, were shocking revelations about institutions in Canada that need investigated and revised. I thought it was well worth the read.

"Our democracy is precious. It is worth fighting for." page 14

Ms. May is also and mostly about the environment. In the video seen here, Rick Mercer is having fun attacking Elizabeth about chopping trees down. Elizabeth looks really uncomfortable through out this video because it goes against her philosophy about protecting trees. But Elizabeth is a good sport and when the issue is the birds or the humans, and there are plenty more trees about for the birds, you can see for yourself what happens. I was totally impressed with how competently she handles a chain saw. =D

Miserable daughter, miserable dog, no party, no violin concerto, no lights.

2011-03-26T00:03:00.000-04:00

My eldest daughter returned from her cruise last Sunday with a horrible sinus infection. Despite being sick, she has been going to work all week.... (a behavior she learned from me) and I apologize for demonstrating this behavior when she was young. So, Friday night she arrives home from work to find six messages on her home phone. Every message was from friends of her ten year old (he just turned ten on Tuesday). The friends were all wondering what time to arrive for the party on Saturday. My daughter, who is in dire need of rest, is answering the messages and thinking, "Party!!???! What Party???? Tim!!!!!!!" I offered to bring the cake, but I suppose the party is not happening.

My youngest daughter has been waiting to find out when the Kiwanis Music Festival is in Guelph so she can make plans for her daughter to compete. It's in two weeks!!! A little more notice would have been appreciated. My granddaughter has been rehearsing her violin music since Christmas. It's the same weekend as Great Grandma (the inlaw's) 80th birthday. One competition is Friday, the birthday (out of town) is Saturday and the other two competitions are Monday. I offered to come for the weekend, but my daughter will be out of town with the inlaws on the Saturday, so I suppose the weekend visit is not happening.

My brother's friend has been over here helping me decorate the front hall, since the new door was installed in the fall. Most of it is done, there is still some painting left to do and new light fixtures to find and put up. It's going to look great if I ever get it finished. I guess I'll have time to work on it over the next little while with no birthday party and only one day of violin competitions to see.

My brother's friend gave Lindsay (my dog) a hot chili pepper on Thursday when he was here. Today she is not feeling so well, she has horrible gas and she is not her usual, sociable self. I offered to play with her tonight but because she has gone off to bed, I suppose that will have to wait until tomorrow.

Today I saw my first robin of spring. If you lick the tips of your two fingers (index and tall finger) of your right hand, touch the wet finger tips on the centre of your left palm, make a wish (because he's your first robin) stamp the wish by making a fist with your right hand and hitting your left palm's wet spot, your wish will come true, as long as you don't tell anyone what you wished for. I made such a wish today.

I also collected my free Lotto Max ticket this morning for tonight's $30 million dollar draw, complete with a free Encore ticket. I won these free tickets last week.

I want to get the decorating finished, I want to get over to visit my grandson and take him his birthday present, I want my daughter to be feeling better, I want to see my granddaughter compete at Kiwanas, I want Lindsay to be feeling better and um, winning the lottery would be a good thing too. I won't tell you what I wished for, but I will update you on developments.

Next weekend, (Sunday) is April the 3rd. If Barry had survived his cancer, April the 3rd would be his 68th birthday. His surviving family and I are going to Chapter's bookstore on April the 3rd to celebrate our first annual "Buy a book for Grandpa Day." A whole bunch of family members are coming along to this event and we will go to dinner after the bookstore, to a nearby restaurant. I will bring along some Grandpa pictures. =D

I hope where ever you live on this earth, you have a great week this week. I also hope that some really great "first robin of spring luck" comes knocking on your door. Give someone you love an extra hug and a smile today.

AND WON'T YOU PLEASE, TURN YOUR ELECTRICITY OFF TONIGHT FROM 8:30 - 9:30 PM. At least your lights. Light some candles for some people in Japan. Thank you.

That Old Devil Moon

2011-03-19T10:37:00.001-04:00

It's maple sugar time!!! The last full moon of winter is tonight. Spring can no longer be denied. Legends abound on the naming of this moon. The two names that seemed the most appropriate to me are the Worm Moon and the Full Sap Moon. The Worm Moon means the ground is thawing, the worms are popping up through the soil and this would be really good news for the robins, our harbingers of spring.

The Full Sap Moon means the sap that has been stored in the tree roots all winter, is now rising back up inside the warm tree trunks and the trees will begin photosynthesis again soon. This means that the carbon in the atmosphere will lessen over the summer months. It also means, if you live near a deciduous forest, you can put your spyle into a maple tree and extract sap to make maple syrup.

In Quebec and Ontario, at this time of year Maple Syrup festivals abound. That means plenty of pancakes and Canadian bacon are consumed and everyone has a great time.

Some places in the city have enough sugar maple trees around that they can form a maple tree cooperative. This means they can extract the sap from the trees on their property and take it to local sugar bush. They then would get a discount or some free maple syrup, depending on the amounts of sap harvested. Spyling your own maple trees doesn't hurt the trees and syrup (the Canadian Gold real stuff) is very expensive. So this idea is a boon for city folk who like syrup. It's a lot of work though.

Worms on the other hand, I will leave to the robins and the spring fishermen. Just leave enough of the wrigglers in my garden to keep the soil healthy.

Look, up there in the sky: It's supermoon!

Tonight, the Full Sap Moon is special because it's orbit is on "the close to the earth trajectory", so it will look fuller, brighter and I suppose, more romantic. That means that old devil moon will be sucking the crazies out of us. Tonight you may expect, people who are full of worms or those who have consumed too much maple sugar to be riding high. And if you are out and about tonight, keep a watch out for werewolves. The maternity wards will be busy and the cats could be meowling.

While you are busy enjoying the last moon of winter tonight, you may want to indulge in a little romance and I have provided a sexy Sinatra tune to get you in the mood.

"I'm melting..... I'm melting!!"

2011-03-16T10:04:00.000-04:00

Are Nuclear Reactors the Wicked Witch of the West?

Well, if you know me, you know how I feel about it. You will notice, when they poured water on the Japanese nuclear reactor, it melted. This begs the question, was Frank L. Baum a visionary? At this point I would say yes. And Dorothy had to follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City. Emerald is green. Oh, the things you can read into fiction! Take a hint from the Wizard of Oz, Presidents and Prime Ministers, even Dictators of the world. Listen to the people of Germany, demanding that the nuclear plants in that country get shut down. I say, shut them all down!! Let us go to the Emerald City. At least, let's try.

I have no desire to run out and buy Potassium Iodine. I would rather invest in green technology to produce energy. Solar Panels, Wind Power and Geothermal Technology. Let us follow the yellow brick road and head in that direction. How about beginning with CONSERVING ELECTRICITY? Here's an idea who's time has come.

If the unbelievable disaster that is currently unfolding in Japan teaches us anything, the first lesson should be Murphy's Law. "Anything that can go wrong will, and at the worst possible time. " My heart goes out to the Japanese people, to their families, their friends and to the people in the rest of the world who are grieving for friends and family in Japan. If the rest of the world wakes up and wants to change their lives in a good way as a continuing memorial to this horrible tragedy, then lessen your use of electricity. We've only had electricity since about the time The Wizard of Oz was penned. For the rest of human history, people have managed to live without it. We don't have to live without it, but do we really need so much of it? I would say no.

"Toto, we are not in Kansas anymore!"

That world where we have become a throw away society, where we ignore the words "reduce, reuse and recycle", we cannot live there anymore. Japan is showing us why. We need to wake up and try to get along with less. Isn't it a little ironic that the very country Japan, who produce all those exciting electronic technologies we cannot seem to live without, is the very country about to teach us how to get rid of of nuclear power plants? No one NEEDS all the electricity they use, they waste.

I'm with Mr. Baum. I am headed for the Emerald City. I began my journey there many years ago. It hasn't been a perfect journey for me, but it's been a good journey. Organic vegetables on the farm that the scarecrow protects. Open your brain and think about it. Buy locally. A little less oil for the tin man. We can walk or ride a bike. It's better for your heart. And the cowardly lion? Won't the animals of the world be happy to think their survival may not be as tenuous? Let us try to protect our resources instead of exploiting them. If we only had the brains, the heart, the nerve. Come on, we can do it world!

Click your heels together and say, "There's no place like home." Our earth is our home.

My heart, my thoughts and my prayers are with the country of Japan.

Circle March the 14th on your calendar.

2011-03-09T11:49:00.001-05:00

Going back to Euclidian Geometry (and probably even before that) mathematicians were always interested in circles.

To quote Wikapedia,

"π (sometimes written pi) is a mathematical constant whose value is the ratio of any Euclidean plane circle's circumference to its diameter; this is the same value as the ratio of a circle's area to the square of its radius. It is approximately equal to 3.14159265 in the usual decimal notation. "

Now we have a day to celebrate this mathematical constant. It's called "Pi Day". And, according to another Wikapedia source, Larry Shaw (pictured here) was the creator of Pi Day in 1989.

For those who want to get VERY technical, "sometimes the so-called Pi Minute is also commemorated. This one occurs twice on March 14 at 1:59 a.m., and 1:59 p.m. If π is truncated to seven decimal places, it becomes 3.1415926, making the Pi Second occur on March 14 at 1:59:26 a.m. (or 1:59:26 p.m.). If a 24-hour clock is used, the Pi Second occurs just once yearly, on March 14 at 01:59:26. "

When the calendar is in the third month, and it is the 14th day, at 1:59 am or pm, you are welcome to wallow in the joy of mathematics and join in a celebration of Pi.

How is "Pi day" celebrated you ask? Well first there is a celebration of circles, possibly hoop dances, singing perhaps "Proud Mary", watching the Lion King.... (circle of life), reading circle poetry, or the "Tao of Pi", admiring Stonehenge, making circle art, and then after, everyone eats pie.

This also means that baking will happen in anticipation of "Pi Day", because the best pies we know are home made.

So, get out your favourite pie recipe, find an interesting circle activity and bring it full circle on Monday.
Happy Pi Day Everyone!!!

Perhaps you can find someone who can explain how First Peoples manage to balance these hoops while they dance. I have watched a few times in person and I am always in awe.

Teach Your Children, by example, How to be Healthy

2011-02-17T23:23:00.000-05:00

A fellow Canadian who inspires me every time I hear from him, has to be Dr. David Suzuki. I've met him, I have his autograph and I try to keep him front and centre on my facebook page as much as possible. I read every page he sends me... and today, his message.... which came to me from my daughter Heather, was on my favorite topic.... grandchildren!!!! His message is mostly about encouraging your grandchildren to lead healthy lives, by living a healthy life yourself. Telling them to be healthy will not work. Having them help you build a healthy life together, works better. His examples includes cut wood and worms. Also he includes the cutest little grandson ever.... Gunny. Please read the link and delight in the joys of grandparenting @

www.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/science-matters/2011/02/teach-your-children---by-example---how-to-be-healthy/index.php

If you would like to share grandparenting stories or even parenting moments, where you have worked together with your little ones to improve the earth, please share your stories here. We could set up a meme. If I get enough participants, in the next week or so, we could set a posting date of Monday February 28th.

Flag Day

2011-02-16T10:31:00.000-05:00

The official national flag of Canada was raised for the first time on February 15, 1965. So, yesterday was Flag Day in Canada. Did any Canadians notice? Do any Canadians care? Not really. And yet our flag is very unique among world flags and we, as a nation are very fond of our flag.

No one writes patriotic songs about our flag like George Cohan or John Philip Sousa. We tend not to sing about our flag on Canada Day, although lots of patriotic flag waving happens. We do love our flag and what our flag represents. This flag is 16 years younger than me and so it doesn't have the history of "Old Glory". The country that our flag represents is a young nation compared to many other developed world nations. Maybe as a country with a history steeped in tradition that has not always been written down, we tend to keep our patriotism in our hearts.

During the Olympics last year, the Canadian Flag was prominent. We wore it on our mittens, and hoodies, painted it on our faces and paraded around draped in large silky flags. Our flag seldom gets that much showing of affection even on Canada Day when most Canadians carry around post card sized little flags on lollipop sticks. Well, we do love and respect our flag. If I had posted this yesterday, it wouldn't have jelled with the typically Canadian attitude. "Oh yeah eh? That was yesterday. I should have done something."

Heavenly Hearts

2011-02-14T10:16:00.000-05:00

So, I invited my brother Steve over from the granny flat last night. I bought a turkey breast and made some stuffing and cranberry sauce. There were more then the usual amount of dishes to clean up and I was tired.

I woke up this morning and finished up the last of the nasty pots, put them all away and then I was down to the last item.... the sieve I used to strain the gravy. It goes away in the baking cupboard over the stove.

Did you know my mother was a fantastic cook and a baker? She decorated beautiful cakes as a hobby. In my baking cupboard I still have a few of her cake decorating supplies.... decorating tips, a few large sized little bottles of food coloring (liquid, not paste) and some wedding cake pillars and silver leaves, all that sort of stuff. I decorate cakes infrequently too.

Anyway, I was putting the sieve away and reaching over the decorating stuff when I must have inadvertently knocked over the bottle of red food coloring liquid. I've done it before. Yes, the baking cupboard needs a tidy. Okay! Usually, the bottle lands on the stove top and I pick it up and put it away. This time that didn't happen.

This time, the bottle came shooting out of the cupboard at a sixty degree angle instead of straight down and hit the edge of the white countertop where it meets the edge of the stove. The lid broke in half in a heart shape and went scooting along the countertop at a very high rate of speed. It left a long trail of little red heart shapes in a very straight line, running south to north all along my recently cleaned and polished white counter top.

Being a fan of "Sleepless in Seattle" and "An Affair to Remember" (these two movies go together even though they were made 30 years apart), I got this flash of Rosie O'Donnell's face in my brain saying
"It's a sign! It's a sign!" It is Valentines' Day after all, and these two favorites are my Valentine "go to" movies. After cleaning it all up (red to pink smears all over the place........blagh!!!!), I began wrapping the lidless bottle of liquid red coloring for the trash, and it occurred to me that I should have taken pictures.

I didn't think of the camera immediately, due to the cataract in my eye which is very dense. The camera is put away until after the laser surgery, because my eyes won't focus to capture the shot. The camera needs a battery boost too. The other thing is, I cannot locate the piece of lid that flew along the counter top painting my Valentine hearts. I have searched the entire floor at the end of the counter top. It vanished into thin air! (A 1950's expression). When and if I ever find it, I will wash it and save it for a while.

Well, Happy Valentines Day to Me......... and thank you my angels, for the heavenly hearts made from my mom's red food coloring all over what used to be Barry's mothers white counter tops. They're all up in heaven together looking out for me. Happy Valentines' Day friends!

Exciting News....... I now have 100 followers on my blog!!!!!

2011-02-13T01:18:00.002-05:00

If you are one of the 100 people who are currently following my blog, I am sending a great big THANK YOU your way. The past two years have been a very turbulent time in my life and this has not been the most uplifting blog to follow. I thank you all for staying the course so far.

Don't get me wrong.... there have been unbelievable blog parties and balls, even invitations to tea, all kinds of memes, music and pictures, things you wouldn't have thought possible.... but wow... it's all here in bloggyland. There have been poems of every description and family histories I would never had believed if I hadn't read them here. There have been awesome you tube videos of many things. Most of all, the photography is brilliant.

I plan to continue blogging and keeping in touch with as many of you as I can. I am looking forward to blogging and commenting with everyone in the near future. I try to respond to all my comments, so please leave one. Have a safe and happy weekend with family and friends and as Monday approaches...

sunshine on my shoulder

2011-02-04T11:14:00.000-05:00

Well, here is the evidence that spring is on the way.

My best friend Shirley is spending her winters in Costa Rica, on the beach. She decided a couple of years ago that she had enough of winter. No kidding. She grew up in Mattawa, lived in Toronto and North Bay for a number of years and now she is spending her winters in the tropics.

I miss her but she sends back great pictures, like this one I found on facebook this morning. There's that old lazy sun setting over the nearly south Pacific. She said (and I quote).... "It's the first time we've seen the sun set over the water this year. Up until now it's been setting behind that rocky outcrop on the left. " There you have it! The sun is on the move.... NORTH!!!!!!!!

Yes... I apologize. The earth is rotating back onto the tilt that puts North America more in the path of the sun so that we receive more warmth and light over the coming months. My point is....... It's happening. Here comes the sun, indeed!

Yesterday I posted "Here comes the Sun" by George Harrison and I only had one visitor. Although I wanted to post "Rising Sun" by George today, I changed my mind. Although I love my "Bug" friend dearly, more visitors are also welcome and appreciated. Today I went with John Denver, "Sunshine on my Shoulders". It's softer, more pleasant and the pictures in this video are lovely. Enjoy!!!

I'll save George for later in the month.... his birthday anniversary draws near.

If you are stopping by looking for Friday Shoot Out, I am apologizing that I did not participate this week. The cataract in my left eye is very dense right now and it is really difficult to take pictures. I have scheduled an appointment for the 8 minute surgery, but in Toronto the wait is long... March or April. So, I will do my best to post sometimes but it maybe early spring before I am a regular again. The other thing is I am baby sitting the grandkids in Whitby this weekend and won't have the time to visit the other participants. It made more sense to bow out gracefully this week.

FSO people....... I collect tea cups, tins and 45 RPM records....... you've already seen my teacups, maybe I'll get to share the tins and the 45s another time.

The Great Arctic Solar Mystery

2011-02-02T23:19:00.000-05:00

Here is a very unusual happening. Now that winter is waning and spring is on it's way, light is returning to the northern hemisphere. There are more hours of sunlight in the north..... and in the far north, sunlight once again is returning to the Arctic. The sun actually appears in the sky, always on the same day every year. It's like clock work, isn't it? Of course it is! But, what if the sun turned up on a day it wasn't supposed to? It's a scary thought. But, that's just what happened in Greenland THIS year. Read on..........

The Great Arctic Solar Mystery: Why Did Sunlight Return to Greenland Two Days Early?

Most friends who visit me in bloggyland, are not so much interested in the light the sun brings, they are more looking for some of that warmth that comes with soaking up some rays. Well, after this long, cold lonely winter, and "Megastorm" this week, we still have pretty much half of the winter season to experience. I've been visiting my new friend Jo, at "SmilingHeart", whose blog you can visit here. There you will find a blog that's like a visit to the spa, with peaceful pictures and beautiful music. So, just for today I have been inspired by Jo, to add music to my blog. I have this uplifting tune from my favorite Beatle, just for you. The pictures of George? They're for me...... oh, and you too if you're a fan.

Hopefully, the light and the warmth of the sun will return to the rest of us when it's supposed to.

Ground Hog Day... Another Poem for Brighid

2011-02-01T22:42:00.000-05:00

Ground hog, ground hog.....
Whatcha gonna say today?
Ground hog, ground hog.....
Tell me, tell me all the way.
Well, I'm so sick and tired
Of all this cold winter snow,
Ground hog baby,
Is that sun gonna show?
Ground hog, ground hog.....
Whatcha gonna say today?

Author Unknown but likely local to Toronto

Helmikuu

2011-01-31T23:53:00.001-05:00

Poem for Brighid - Feb. 2011

Helmikuu

Snow, melting in droplets on woodland trees

Form pearls of ice, which hang along every branch and twig

Adding an iridescent lustre to the northern forests in February.

Long after nightfall, the fire fox running along the forest floor

Sends snow drifts and sparkles from the end of his wavering tail

Into the starlit skies making the borealis drapery

Dance in the promise of springtime hues.

The chartreuse greens shine brilliantly,

Unfolding and reflecting in the lustre of the pearl droplets of snow

Shining from every branch and twig and

Lighting the boreal forests with this February song.

If Apple Pie Can be Good For You, This is It!

2011-01-30T12:11:00.000-05:00

Yield: 8

Ingredients

For the Crust

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup rolled oats

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup or so of water (you may not need this much)

For the Filling

6 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored and cut into 6 even pieces

(The apple were cored but not peeled on the cooking show.)

1/2 cup honey

3 tablespoons whole-wheat flour (you may not need quite this much)

1 tablespoon of cinnamon

Directions

For the Crust

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk the flour, rolled oats, brown sugar and salt together in a large bowl. Add the oil and mix well. Add the water and stir in just enough until the mixture comes together. Knead it once or twice to gather up all the dry ingredients. Add a few drops more of water if needed. Divide in half and form into 2 flattened discs. One disc, for the top crust, may be slightly smaller than the other disc which will be the bottom crust. Chill until ready to use.

For the Filling

Toss the apples with the honey, flour and cinnamon.

Flour your hands, the work surface, the roller and the dough then roll one pastry disc out into a 12-inch round and fit it into an 8-inch pie plate. You may find it easy to fold the disc into quarters than pick it up and unfold it over the pie plate. Add the apples.

Roll out the other disc into a 12-inch round and place over top of the apples. Trim and seal edges of pie and poke 3 or 4 vent holes into the top of the pie so that steam will be released and not blow out the crust. Place onto the bottom rack of the oven and bake for 1 hour, until crust is golden and juices are bubbling. The bottom crust has a better chance of browning and crisping if it is near the bottom of the oven.

For the Topping

1/2 cup yogurt

1/4 cup maple syrup

Whisk the yogurt and maple syrup together and serve with the pie.

Recipe from: Michael Smith>Chef at Home, The Food Network, Canada

January Blaghs.........

2011-01-10T00:46:00.000-05:00

I love the snow but I hate driving in it. Now that snow is here and storm clouds accumulate, I wait for the storm to unfold and long to stay at home. There has been so much snow lately and more on the way, I know I have to go out and drive in it. I don't want to. The thing is, Toronto never calls a snow day.

In the morning it's fine because the salt trucks are out the night before. They effectively spread the liquid salt on the city streets. Since the snow is only beginning to fall and there is no accumulation, driving in the morning is fine. As the day goes on and the storm gets more intense, the plows come out and delay traffic. The snow accumulates on city streets and the roads become very treacherous. The ride home at five is always a headache. I hate it! I have to drive by two high schools, a college and a university. There are also three large hills. The plethora of new, inexperienced drivers really is scary, especially on the hills!

On snowy days I long for the arrival of April. In my mind, it can never get here fast enough. I've been driving this route for twenty-five years through numerous snow days without an accident, nary an incident. Truly, the dread of the experience is far worse than actually driving in the snow.

Our New Front Door! Linda, Lindsay and Steve

2011-01-03T13:26:00.007-05:00

This is our new front door, new porch, new railing and a new walkway. I love it! (see the blog header). We had Steve's friend Craig come in and fix the front hall after the door was installed. It looks awesome! The closet needed to come out so the door would fit. Craig installed coat hooks with a shelf and bead board underneath. I will post when it's finished. When you come in the front door now, it feels just like school.... "you can retire the teacher" or can you? Maybe not.

I wanted to write this blog about how I feel; like the whole entire world is taking care of me. Thank you all!!! Really. It's not quite as good as Barry used to do it, but it's a very close second, so thank you again. I get advice and love on facebook from everywhere, I get crazy love on this blog that warms my heart and makes me smile constantly.

And then there are the people who I relate with in person, well....

My daughter Heather knit these mitts for me AND the green socks below.........

I already had these mitts from supporting the Olympics last winter.........

Then on my birthday, my family of friends whom I love dearly purchased two sets of these....

Reya wants to make me chicken soup, Lizzy had something a little stronger in mind because I have a cold today. But I have lots of woollies, scarves and hats. I also have a big long warm coat. And I just know, someone over at Willow Manor will be delighted with all these woolly accessories! Thank you all for the love and support. The whole world is taking care of me!!!!

Happy Holidays, We are well.

2010-12-26T11:36:00.003-05:00

Hello everyone! I just wanted to let you know, I've been thinking about you. Barry and I had soooo much fun blogging together, it's been really difficult to blog without him here. The girls and I are keeping well and we've had a good Christmas. Lindsay is good too, even though she misses Barry. She still likes sleeping with his gloves and shoes beside her. I miss all of you and will make an effort to visit everyone as soon as I can. I've been hanging out on facebook with family and a few blogging buds. The blogging buds keep reminding me of how much I am missing all of you. Have a wonderful holiday and keep healthy. Give everyone you treasure extra hugs and stay safe. =D

Living on A Happy Planet

2010-08-30T10:20:00.005-04:00

When you have 15 minutes, get a coffee or tea, sit comfortably and listen.....

Nic Marks: The Happy Planet Index | Video on TED.com

Connect..... Stay Active...... Take Notice....... Keep Learning...... Give...... Be Happy. =D

Baby Steps

2010-08-05T07:18:00.003-04:00

Yesterday Heather came with her children and we had a really nice visit. Natasha and Griffin were having a wonderful time reacquainting themselves with Lindsay. Towards the end of the day Lindsay took to hiding under the kitchen table. She just wasn't used to all of the attention from two very active children! But it was fun.

Heather and I disabled the comments on Barry's blog. In a way it seems counter productive. The comments bloggers were leaving there were so thoughtful and touching. Several times in the past few weeks many members of our family and extended family were sobbing just reading through the loving comments. Thank you all one more time.

Barry's blog will remain up for you to visit and you are welcome to leave comments here if you like. Having his words and a few short videos of Barry will help ease the sadness, when I am brave enough to listen to his voice again. I had to take his voice message off our answering machine on our phone. My daughters would phone, collapse into tears and hang up.

The journey is still very raw and painful but there is a wonderful support system in place here and many happy memories. Right now I need to go and work on the plethora of government papers, legal and financial status forms that need my attention. I intend to visit all of your blogs in the next little while. Hopefully by the end of August I'll be back into blogging and maybe even writing some poems. Happy poems.

Check it out!!!

2010-07-16T22:59:00.002-04:00

Barry was up in a wheel chair today! It is the first time he has been out of bed since Fathers' Day. He was so elated to be mobile, he posted a blog today, on his site. It isn't a long blog, but he happily typed the words. So bloggy friends..... you need to go and check it out!!! =D

Update on Barry

2010-07-12T07:22:00.002-04:00

Barry was moved on Friday to a different hospital in Scarborough, closer to our home. It is 10 minutes drive. They allow computers at the hospital and I have purchased a lightning stick for Barry.

I cannot leave his computer at the hospital, it is too valuable. He has been on it twice with internet and the reading part wore him out, so he fell asleep.

His goal right now is to muster some energy to get out of bed and into a wheelchair so that he can be taken outdoors to the expansive gardens to feel the sun on his face and so that we can bring Lindsay over for a visit.

Barry is in palliative care. I go to the hospital everyday. I bring him organic fruit from the farmers market. They make good soup at this hospital, so I do not need to make soup anymore. He has been taking vitamin supplements, drinking as much fluid as he can and eating.

Barry sends his love and I will update as much as I can. Thank you for your good wishes, thoughts and prayers. They are in our hearts and keeping us strong. xoxo

Well, we're not sure.....

2010-07-04T18:24:00.002-04:00

Barry is STILL in the hospital. I have not heard from the doctor yet, and until I do, I cannot share a prognosis with you. I do know he WAS having a good response to the procedure, but during the last little while.... things have not been as good. Barry's arms and legs swelled up, he wasn't eating or drinking and his tummy was in some sort of pain. He has had three resident doctors and he has had his room changed six times, so there has been a lack of consistency in care. Now that they have removed all of the tubes and plugs, he is feeling much better and he is eating better.

Barry lost a great amount of his strength and mobility while he was on intravenous, but he is gaining it back since they removed the drip. I need to hear from the doctor what the plan is. If his eating and drinking improves and he gets his strength back he could be coming home. If not, he will either go to rehab for a few weeks or to palliative care indefinitely.

I need to hear from Princess Margarets' doctors too. We need to know if Barry is strong enough to continue with chemo. The swelling has caused his veins to become inaccessible for blood work, but that may be temporary (they may put a stent in) and the situation seems to be improving with proper hydration and food. We enjoyed freshly picked raspberries from the farm today and broccoli soup. Barry ate all he was given. =D

When I hear from the doctor(s) and I know what the prognosis is, then after my family is made aware, I will let all of you know the news. Until then, Barry and I send our love to all of you and know that as we wait we are working on rehydrating, exercise and eating. Prayers. xoxo

The tide is turning....

2010-06-28T22:23:00.002-04:00

The resident doctor says the tests all indicate that Barry is improving daily. He is beginning to eat and drink again, he is in less pain and the fluid is nearly gone from both lungs. All this news is good. If they can get him moving without Barry becoming so short of breath... we will be accomplishing miracles. This is our goal and we are getting there.

The procedure turned out to be way more complex than we first anticipated and with the earthquake, the tornadoes, the bad weather and the continuing pandemonium in city, it has become a real trial. However, we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It is burning brightly and we are headed in it's direction now.

So many people have prayed, so many people have pitched in... helping with school work, taking care of Lindsay, driving us to the hospital and home, sending their love, coming to visit, we wouldn't have made it without you. Heartfelt thank you's to one and all!!!

The resident doctor says Barry will miss his next chemo treatment on Canada Day July 1st, but he will be able to have it the week after and she was not even hesitant or doubtful when she said it.

I wasn't looking forward to spending Canada Day in chemo daycare anyway! Dear Lindsay, daddy will be coming home soon!=D

Barry is almost out of the woods.... Toronto isn't.

2010-06-27T00:12:00.004-04:00

My friend who is a hero, drove me downtown today so I could visit Barry. I knew before I went downtown, there was an "iffy" situation developing but there was no indication of it during the entire drive in.... until we came along Wellesley St. and were staring ahead at Queens Park and the parliament buildings. There was only a sea of people as far as the eye could see.

We were grateful to turn down Bay Street, and on into the hospital. My friend left and said he would return to pick me up at 7 pm. Only the Elizabeth St. entrance to the hospital was open. The University St. doors were locked and guarded. I hurried upstairs only to be turned away because Barry's right lung was done and they were moving the drain to Barry's left lung. I had to wait downstairs until the procedure was finished.

I went to Tim Hortons for a bagel and a tea. It was 2 pm. and I watched the people begin to stream from Queen's Park, on their 10,000 people strong protest down University Avenue. They were quiet and orderly as they passed the hospital zone as I knew they would be. A women who sat next to me looked very stressed. The violence began as the group arrived further south, closer to the convention centre where the summit was happening.

I went back upstairs and not only had they finished the procedure, but they had moved Barry across the hall to a step down ICU across the hall. He was sitting up in bed, speaking with a stronger voice and eating!! He was breathing so much better and was actually looking more like himself. I was elated at his progress!

Then Kathy phoned me at the hospital. The Go train was cancelled. The subway was not running. The downtown core was closed. The protest had turned violent. No one was leaving or coming into the city. That's when they closed the hospital and no one was allowed to leave. The chair I was sitting in was comfortable and I could have spent the night there if need be. I made the obligatory phone calls canceled my ride home and decided to stay put, I had no choice.

So Barry and I quietly visited, went through the blood pressure readings, chest x-ray and other record keeping by the hospital staff and eventually at 6 pm., they opened the hospital once again.... I could leave. I thought before dark, I should leave and try to find my way home. It seemed the wise choice. As I walked out the doors of the hospital, I asked security if I could return to the hospital if I could find no way home. They said yes.

I walked up Elizabeth Street and a taxi came along. I asked if I could get a lift somewhere. The driver said yes. He drove me north east to Broadview Ave. and Danforth Ave., where the subway WAS running. I was able to return home on the subway. It was an uneventful journey. My brother met me at the connecting bus stop and we walked home together.

The police chief says the violence may continue all night and on into tomorrow. Barry is making such good progress. It would be sad not to be able to share his cancer battle almost won with family and friends. The hospital next to Barry's is for sick children. Children do not understand political agendas. I feel very sad for the added stress those families endured this weekend.
Tomorrow is another day.

Canada is a big country. The summit didn't have to be held so close as to impact the main hospitals in Toronto. Thank you for your good wishes everyone! Love to all.

I only stayed a few hours...

2010-06-25T06:40:00.002-04:00

I was so sleepy yesterday, I only stayed a few hours at the hospital.

Barry wanted cold things to swallow, so we gave him lots of coldness.... peaches, ice cream, ice cap etc. He did not want hot food.

He looks puffy, his hands are swollen.... probably the result of trauma, and all the nasty drugs he has been given.

Barry's colour has been consistently better for a couple of days now. His skin has it's even tan back and he has lost his whiteness of weeks gone by. I am taking this as a good sign. I printed the blog from the other day which had 60 responses from all of you and took it in to him as well as the posts I have been writing about him daily.

It was like he received this huge get well card from all over the world!!!! He read it right away and felt soooooooo much better!!! Thank you one and all.

Unfortunately, I have picked up a mild infection from sitting around the hospital and I need to visit the doctor today for meds.
I slept from 7pm last night until 6:30 am this morning and I am feeling way better than yesterday.

I will try to get downtown to visit Barry later today. The city is swarming with "crazies" and they are becoming difficult to avoid. Police are everywhere and east-west road blocks are cramping traffic flow. Bay street was closed yesterday due to a march of G20 protesters.

Gerrard St., (that the hospital is on) had a police road block. And we were just heading out of the city yesterday waiting for a traffic light when soccer crazies got out of the cars behind us and started punching each other in the street. I noticed one had a hand gun just as the light turned green and we were gone over the viaduct and off down the parkway back to the burbs.

I will be needing a very brave friend to travel the roads downtown to visit Barry later today. It's Friday.... the weekend crazy people will be gathering too. The hospital where Barry is on University Avenue, has the parliament buildings at one end and the G20 convention centre at the other end.

It seems to me that it would have made more sense to have this summit at one of the armed forces bases outside the city core... Trenton or Borden, even perhaps up north in Resolute... a tiny island in the Arctic Ocean.. still Canadian. Better yet.. can our leaders not tele-conference on the world wide web like the rest of us do?

There has been talk about moving Barry to his own room and out of the step down ICU. They want to drain the left lung lining now. It's not as filled with liquid as the right lung lining was. I am hoping the worst of this procedure is behind us. =D

Earthquakes, Tornadoes and Talc

2010-06-24T08:40:00.002-04:00

The medical team at the hospital has a priority of trying to get Barry to cough. Barry has a priority... he doesn't want to cough anymore.

They have him up walking.... Barry is unplugged (too bad he can't sing), it takes 5 minutes to unplug him and get him vertical. He walks the corridors, three turns around the thoracic block twice yesterday. They put a face mask on him, liquid oxygen... but he was not coughing. The lady across the room just up from surgery was hacking and spitting... she coughed like crazy, but Barry doesn't want to cough. He's had enough already.

He ate a little bit of soup yesterday. I will bring more today. The hospital's version of pasta alfredo looked like rigatoni held together by carrots and paste. I'm glad I brought the soup. I will bring more today.

Barry waited all day for them to come and do the talc infusion. We waited while the building swayed with the earthquake. The earthquake was 5.5 and centred in Ottawa. I'm sure it was the result of collective prayers to cancel the summit sent to Mr. Harper on everyone's behalf. Our PM wasn't swayed, so we have to endure lengthy waits on the highway today to get to the hospital. Thank you all for trying.=D

Barry waited while our daughter phoned and cancelled her visit due to tornadoes and bad thunderstorms ripping through Ontario. She told me to go home early. I was just leaving when the doctor arrived to begin the talc infusion. There had been emergency surgery all day (the patent excuse for lateness). The resident doctor arrived right at dinner time, so Barry missed his dinner. I stayed for the first half hour and he was tolerating it well. I never had any phone call last night, so I'm sure the whole process went well. I will update tonight or tomorrow morning. I may be asleep early.

Lindsay has been out of sorts through all of this of course. She has been missing her daddy. She took the opportunity to bark away her consternation at the thunderstorms rolling through in the night.... 2 am and 4 am. Now I am very sleepy. I need to get ready, heat the food up and head downtown once more. I will print all of your good wishes from yesterday so Barry can read them. Once again thank you so much for your love, your support and your prayers.

Hospitals and Governments....

2010-06-23T07:08:00.002-04:00

The liquid has been drained from one side of his lungs and so they are blowing the talc in today. He has to recover for two days and then they will make a plan about the next steps they will take.

In our journeys downtown we are staying well north of the area around the lake where the summit is happening. If there is trouble and people are hurt, they will be coming to the hospital Barry is in and St. Mike's. It's a concern. i don't want to be stopped by police checks, but I am prepared for these eventualities.

The food at Toronto hospitals is garbage. Barry has been living on pudding and jello because he cannot eat the roast beef, the rye bread nor drink the cold tea. Shepherd's pie, tomato soup and hot tea in thermoses is coming his way today. He may not feel like eating due to the talc procedure, but it will be there when he wants good food. He is on intravenous but he still needs to eat.

Barry and I are very grateful for your continuing support. He was anxious to hear about all of you when I arrived at the hospital yesterday. =D He is in step down intensive care, so there is always a nurse with him.

Love and best wishes to all!!!!

How Barry is doing....

2010-06-21T20:38:00.002-04:00

Barry has been having a very eventful hospital visit. We were not anticipating an eventful visit. He was having breathing difficulties last night and was taken to intensive care in the CVCICU which is tucked away in the back corner of the big sprawling hospital. It took Kathy and I an hour to find him at 4 am. this morning. Anyway, he was severely dehydrated and he hasn't been very active lately, so he may have had a small clot or something. Consequently, he will spend the rest of the week in hospital. This will be tricky getting in and out to visit because of the G20 in the same neighborhood. As today progressed, Barry's breathing improved, so he is out of intensive care now

Right now he is in a step-down unit in the thoracic wing of the hospital, which is a step down from intensive care. He looks better than he has looked for a month and he is not coughing anymore. He needs to loose more liquid from the bottom of his lungs, the top of the lung area is now clear of liquid. They have drained close to 6 litres so far. He is still speaking in whispers. That needs to improve. He is getting pain medication, oxygen, blood thinners and a replenishing IV.

When they blow the talc in, it will be painful... they have told us that already, but they have meds to cover the pain they say.
Barry says hello to everyone and he wanted me to post this. I need sleep now, so does Barry. Hopefully, the rest of the week will be all uphill. I will try to keep you posted.

Thank you for your continued love and support, dear blogging friends.

2010-05-21T18:07:00.000-04:00

I will be returning in a few weeks. One more set of reports, a few retirement socials and I'm done !!!!!!!!! I cannot wait to return to the blogosphere!!!!!!! Thank you every blogger! Your stories, poems, songs, quotes, helpful hints and caring comments have enriched my life this year. =D

READ, WRITE, PROMPT: # 107 The Third Window, The Third Eye

2009-12-31T00:16:00.000-05:00

I am submitting these poems because many poems need to be posted.
Every poem written and submitted to Read,Write,Prompt this week will earn a food donation
for the charity 'Hopelink'. I have decided to post some poems instead of my usual one. You can submit a poem too if you like.
Hit on my Read, Write, Prompt button down the right side bar. When you arrive at the site, scroll down the page to find Get Your Poem On #107: Lighting the Way by Andre Tan. Hit on the comments section and POST YOUR POEM in that section.

picture by Shane Gorski

The time of this event was somewhere between nine and ten p.m. in Toronto,
It was after five, already the next morning, in the middle east.
Just about the time when the faithful were waking up for their morning prayers.

The Third Window, Third Eye Chakra (Ajna Chakra)

My yoga instructor was busy explaining
Ajna Chakra, the third eye to me.
Now that my work a day muscles
Were stretched and oxygenated.
I was feeling calm and relaxed.
Concentrating on my breathing.
breathing out, shhhhh.........
I directed my thoughts
To a spot on my forehead
Just above my nose,
While I attempted to focus on nothing.
breathing out, shhhhh.........
After a quiet interval, meditating...
The third eye..... mine.... began tuning in
To unknown voices from the middle east.

At once the visions I saw were clear,
Seeing women veiled, whose grip
With desperation, were clawing
The flesh of their little children's tiny hands,
Mothers held their babies close,
While their swiftly moving feet were taking flight....

Their fearful eyes were desperate,
Searching for a safe haven,
Their faces painted with horror!
Blood dripped from their open wounds,
I was shaken by their fear!

They held close to one another for security.
Then I heard it in my ears, high-pitched
Gut wrenching screams of women and children
Ringing in my ears! Wailing.......
breathing out, shhhhh.........

Unsuccessfully they tried to run away,
Searching for a place to hide, in vain.
I felt aching anger and hopelessness.
This was evil personified!

I was crushed with pain.
The fear and disorientation terrified me.
I could sense the death of so many,
But I was oblivious to the cause.
I worked to will it all away,
Just as the yoga instructor spoke,
And she interrupted my silent hell.
Bringing my focus back to yoga class
She wished to discuss our insights.
I was too horrified to speak!
I considered that I might have
Tuned into an earthquake, somewhere.
I didn't want a rehash.

I wrapped up yoga with a cool down,
Packed up my belongings
And walked out into the fresh
Canadian winters' night.
The car started reluctantly,
As the radio buzzed in with
The last stanza of "Baby it's Cold Outside".
Then, the news was next.........

"Bhagdad had been bombed
By U.S. Airforce strikes,
Happening over the past hour.
There had been collateral damage."

The voices screaming once again in the vortex
Of my third eye, Ajna Chakra.
The innocent women and children,
Terrorized and needing shelter,
Calling to me from half way around the world......
Back in time to their yesterday.
This wasn't an earthquake, it was war!
breathing out, shhhhh.........
ANGER.

Poems for Prompts: The Song of the Weeping Birch

2009-12-30T10:21:00.005-05:00

Poems for Prompts: The Half Empty Glass Sonnet

2009-12-30T10:15:00.007-05:00

Poems for Prompts: Hunger Haiku

2009-12-30T07:03:00.012-05:00

READ,WRITE PROMPT #105: A WORDLE, Wm. STAFFORD

2009-12-17T14:52:00.001-05:00

This week’s prompt is a wordle with words borrowed from one of Deb Scott's favorite poets, William Stafford, specifically from the first stanza of “An Oregon Message.” Not everyone is a Stafford fan, but Deb is. Right now it’s my turn to share my words, whether or not you used many, or any, of the ones Bill used. Thank you for the prompt Deb, and I think I caught them all.

Morpheous, Meteors and Magic

Threading through the branching needles of the lofty pines
That nestled in their grove, along the distant rolling hills,
The rising moon wove glowing light across the snow-drenched meadows...
Then weft his steel- blue shadows down, across the snowy rills.

Crystalized reflected light, did cause the snow to shimmer.
Frozen tiny glints, danced on the hilltops tucked in snow.
The beauty and the brightness of these sparkling, peaceful meadows
Lay breathless; under night skies, with a trillion stars aglow!

Swirling through the trees, fresh scents of pine tar stirred in breezes,
That ruffled the serenity with shell-shaped, clouds of dust.
Curving up, snowflakes did fly, like powders smartly shaken,
As a light wind swept the coldness, with it's gentle, puffing gusts.

Cradled into Morpheous arms this magic night abiding.
It slumbered in it's silence; all was bright, and all was still.
From the backs of lofty pines, whose scents were wafting down the meadows,
To the place I stood entranced, beneath the moonlight, cold and chilled.

Meteors then moved- a shower piercing through the heavens,
Pulling down a rain of fire through this wintry night!
It blazed a trail of hot smoke as it skidded to the meadows,
Where the space rocks hit the snow, still burning from their entry light.

Wild flaming fires singed the snows, in rifts of smoky blackness,
As rocks of burning metal, deep into the snow were tossed!
Settling deep in pockets, of the snow and smoke these meteors,
Became hidden. Some were buried and the little ones were lost.

Then as silence and the stillness returned once more to the meadows,
I stood gaping! I stood awestruck! Through that cold night, on my own.
But the quiet did not last, the calm was once more interrupted,
By the constant, urgent clamor of my ringing telephone.

"The meteors' approach," they said, "Was tracking, on the radar...
Their course was on a heading that would send them out my way.
Had I seen them? Could I leave there, to go where the night was safer?"
"Neglecting my own meadows, on this wondrous night of play?"

I told them, "NO!!"

Threading through the branching needles of the lofty pine trees
That nestled in their grove along the distant rolling hills,
The rising moon wove glowing light across the snow-drenched meadows...
Then weft his steel- blue shadows down, across the snowy rills.

COPENHAGEN: CLIMATE CHANGE

2009-12-13T07:36:00.003-05:00

Parts per Million

I've been checking out the tcktcktck website, the news feeds from Copenhagen and what ever pictures or information I could find, and I was wondering why all the people in the world are walking around wearing the number 350 ? I couldn't figure it out. Then, I read some information and discovered 350 parts per million is a healthy amount of carbon in our atmosphere. Currently, we are averaging 385-400 parts per million and that's only the carbon. The methane's too high as well.

Farm animals who do not graze on grass, expel more methane from both ends. The trend in farming is to keep the animals in the barn and feed them manufactured food. This is so more animals can be raised at one time and the risks of picking up disease is minimal. Snow and ice melting in the Arctic and Antarctic regions also gives off quantities of methane through the melting process. Fires burning in the rain forests of Brazil and Indonesia are dumping HUGE amounts of methane and carbon into our atmosphere.

I wanted to do something to support the Global Day of Action at home, so we got out the tea lights and built a 350 sign at the end of the driveway at about 4 p.m. yesterday. It looked good and we figured if we lit it, it would burn for a couple of hours and it would be our little contribution ( I'm still a hippy at heart ). Alas, the breeze was too strong as the sun went down and the cold, frigid temperatures returned. The candles kept blowing out as we lit them and eventually we gave up. So we took some photos of the unlit tea lights.

We weren't planning to leave the tea lights outside very long. We were afraid someone would drive over them. So we packed them all up and brought them back inside the house. Leaving them out, unlit on the front lawn was another option, but it wouldn't have been effective because the tea lights were white like the patchy snow and they wouldn't have been noticed. The consolation is, we can burn them for Christmas and save our electricity in the house. The sad thing is burning produces carbon and I will need to plant more trees to make up for the carbon burning.

This blog and the blog below are all about climate change. Everyone needs to help reverse carbon emissions .

DECEMBER 12: GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION

2009-12-12T07:22:00.009-05:00

Today is Global Day of Climate Action. Today is December 12, 2009

In Copenhagen, Denmark world leaders are gathered to find out which directions they can be moving toward to keep our planet green and growing. Somewhere at sometime, we stopped looking at our earth as a place to live and started looking at our earth as a company in bankruptcy. Now we are going about liquidating the earth's assets and shutting it down. We need to get our world leaders to take action and stop doing this. Once the coal is gone, once the oil is gone, once the snow and the fresh water have disappeared, how will we survive? If you're thinking we won't survive, you are correct. There is still time to do something though, if we start now. People all around the world are working this weekend to get our world leaders to stop depleting the resources we have left and to start working to find alternative solutions to our growing energy needs.
We can do this together.

Check out these links to people at:
tcktcktck
350.org
Avaaz
who are holding candlelight vigils, creating signing walls and ringing church bells. Find your local action, and be part of the global movement to solve climate change. If there's no action near you, it's not too late to sign up and host one! Even if you only look at one of these sources I've posted just to see what the rest of the world is up to, my purpose in writing this blog will be realized.

The World Wants a Real Deal is a mass mobilization with over 2,500 events taking place in more than 125 countries. At candlelight vigils, marches and special events at temporary walls built in key capitals, people from all walks of life will write messages, post photos and sign their names onto the call for a Fair, Ambitious and Binding climate treaty, this weekend.

You can go to watch the Live Earth Video. These people are working on water conservation for our planet.

Check out one of the organizations listed above and have a peek at the people around the world who care about the problems we are facing and are looking for solutions to global warming. As for me? I would rather be part of the solution than part of the problem.

READ,WRITE PROMPT #104: THE SEX POEM

2009-12-10T00:00:00.001-05:00

The topic for this week’s Read Write Prompt is: The Sex Poem, suggested by Nick Carbo. Thank you Nick for the suggestion. Nick asks, "How does one make an intimate, powerful act/event into a poem that can give the reader the 'big O,' or any “O?”
Well, I'm hoping this submission has an "O-ness" about it! =O

painted by Jindra Noewi

Visiting the Portrait Gallery

My eyes were all over your body
Before my feet even entered the room.

I ran my tongue over my lips
While I contemplated your hair.

I longed to bury my face inside
The fresh scent of your shampoo.

I would gently kiss those soft,
Tumbling curly locks,

Caressing and inhaling,

Lingering there,

Soothed and content.

My humming in your hair.

But the arching tension in your back,
And the sounds of your muscles
Crying out for a soothing massage,
Distract my pleasure

And I became aware of my fingers,
Hidden in the large pockets of my coat,
Responding.

They tensed and squeezed as if freeing the knots.

My hands were cupping
And slowly feeling their way through
That thickened area of paint around your shoulders
Where the coloration resembled the hues of wet semen.

I could feel my cheeks blush as I became aware
Of the warming wetness inside my panties, then.

I gasped for air to hush the moan
Building inside my hot, dry throat.

The sinuous curves of your limbs
Slowly lead my intense gaze downward,
To the place where your hand
Touched,
......... was focused
And fixated near your feet.
That spot where your pelvis pushed upward,
Away from the bed

I wanted you then.

And just as I imagined you
Might turn around and see me there
Aching for an orgasm,
I could feel my feet
Leading me away toward the
Gallery of industry and labor.

Written by Linda Fraser, December 2009

Anticipating Snow

2009-12-06T08:08:00.006-05:00

So far, here in the banana belt of Canada, there is no snow, yet. There is snow north of us in Muskoka, Parry Sound and all the way up to North Bay and beyond. But in Toronto, we have no snow. Friends who live north of us are threatening to mail us some.

FACE BOOK CONVERSATION (a few day's ago)

LORI (from North Bay): Linda, you have snow, right?
LINDA: Here in the Banana Belt the leaves haven't even changed colors yet, Lori. (I'm such a joker=D)
LORI: Check the mail, I'm sending you some snow!
JENNIFER (Lori's sister): I'll bring mine over and you can send Linda my snow too!

They have horrible snow out west in Alberta. Cars are sliding all over the road!

The Edmonton News is calling it the worst snowstorm in six years!

Down east, the Maritimes are digging out from a recent dumping. Here in Toronto we haven't seen the white stuff since last winter. Yesterday on the news, what was the lead story? Snow in Texas! Texas? That's way south of Toronto.

Here in Toronto..... green grass.... but you know

By Wednesday, that snowstorm in Alberta will have picked up enough north winds to blow the storm here and it should arrive by Wednesday. That's just about when the snow from Texas will have blown up the Mississippi and it should be arriving the same day. Two lows colliding over the Great Lakes is never a pretty site.

The north wind doth blow, and we shall have snow,
And what will poor robin do then, poor thing?
He'll sit in a barn, and keep himself warm,
And hide his head under his wing, poor thing.

READ,WRITE PROMPT #103: POMEGRANATES

2009-12-03T04:34:00.001-05:00

Dana Guthrie Martin challenged us to look at the photo below and consider what the pomegranate makes us think of. The pomegranate will lead somewhere, she says. No one will be able to resist its pull. Thank you Dana, for pulling us into pomegranates.

Pomegranate by Nasos3

Terrorists

Camouflaged inside their ancient villages,
Which lay scattered along mountain pathways,
Beside the trails that twist through the groves of pomegranate trees.
They wait.
As quiet sounds vibrate through the dry dust
The whispers struggle to etch strategies into their brains.
Whispers from the hushed voices they have summoned from the Underworld,
Messages dropped like seeds of repugnant gossip from Hades lair.
They listen.
Savvy of the seedy schemes and Hades evil trickery,
They are inspired to make their devilish deals and ugly threats
Pilfering what they want, when they want it.
And those who won't support them
Will be maimed, executed or worse.
They act without remorse.
They harvest opium from where the poppies blow
And profit from the mournful misery of every nation.
Imbrued in the dried blood which stains the gravel
From the detonated bombs they've buried, they carry on.
Exploding the tanks and carriers of their stalkers.
They wield their might and power.
They continue to send the body bags
Back across the sea, wrapped in flags
Previously dyed in the blues and whites of other nations
Or possibly dyed with the red pigment
Extracted from the seeds of the pomegranate trees
Leaving the fruit's hulls quashed and scattered in the dry dust,
Along the mountain pathways
Covering up the trail of the terrorists
Whose days are numbered.

Written by Linda Fraser, Dec. 2009

WHAT A DIVINE CHRISTMAS TEA PARTY, MR. TOAST!

2009-12-01T16:47:00.012-05:00

We made it to Aspen! Wayne Gretzky has friends not far away and we had no trouble finding the place! The flight from Whistler was beautiful! So, this is me except I am a little older and maybe a size bigger, but I love this gown! It looks like a 1950's Christmas baubble. I am also wearing my Oscar perfume, because I always do.

This is my date. my husband Barry. He is in his suede suit, (so soft).MMMmmm.

We have also brought with us some Canadian Olympians who were delighted to come and share some olympic moments with you. This is Cindy Klassen. She is from Winnipeg. Cindy is a mover, she won 5 speed skating medals (short track) in the Turin Olympics in Italy. You can see her medals, she brought a couple to show you. Please ask her about the upcoming Olympic games in Whistler this February.

This is Hayley Wickenheiser and her friend. Hayley is on the Canadian Women's Hockey Team. They won gold medals in Turin Italy and in Salt Lake City. Hayley is a great hockey player.

Hayley will probably be talking with this man, Wayne Gretzky. He cannot stay all night, it is hockey season after all! But he will be here for a while, so get over and talk with him early.

Shae-Lynn and Victor are the best ice dancers ever, in my opinion. It was so wonderful that they wanted to join us on this wonderful evening. they know so much about olympic competitions, if you have questions for them.

Finally, here are the 20 trays of smoked salmon we brought in from Vancouver this afternoon. Help yourself! Thank you, Mr. Toast for allowing our whole party to attend your tea! It is such a wonderful beginning to the season. We hope the salmon adds to the delicious goodies you have provided.

HOW MY BLOG GOT IT'S NAME

2009-12-01T14:10:00.001-05:00

Ruth at Synch-ro-ni-zing is having a Meme today about how my blog came by it's name. We are going to visit around and see the creative processes used for blog naming. It should be really interesting.
Here's mine.

Having taught Canadian geography in elementary school, I have become aware of regions within our country. I know that where I live is often considered part of the St. Lawrence lowlands. Other books refer to where I live as the eastern woodlands as opposed to the western prairies or the mountain corridor.

Usually if a reference is made to the eastern woodlands, it is talking about the First Peoples who lived in the region since the dawn of time. The woodlands were an important part of their survival. These peoples, the Algonquin, the Huron and the Iroquois Confederacy all roamed the forests where I now live. I was born here. I have lived here all my life. The care of the trees here are partially my responsibility and I believe my survival depends on the survival of the eastern woodland forests.

Trees are carbon consumers and providers of oxygen. They reflect sun and provide shade and cooler temperatures. They shelter us from harsh winds and winter blizzards. I love the forests of Ontario. I am supporting the movement to make the Rouge Valley a National Park in Canada. I have planted many trees and been the cause of many trees being planted.

I am Linda, Living in the Eastern Woodlands. Hug a tree for me.

OFF TO ASPEN FOR TEA: STOP OVER AT WHISTLER

2009-11-30T18:38:00.008-05:00

Barry and I are off to Aspen Colorado for Mr. Toast's tea tomorrow. Our first stop is here in Whistler BC, where we are picking up a few olympic guests to take with us. We had to wait until the last minute because our olympic friends, Hayley Wickenheiser
(2 gold medals, women's hockey), Cindy Klassen(5 gold medals 2006 speed skating), Shae-Lynn Bourne, Victor Kraatz(deserved more gold medals then they acquired, ice dancing) and Wayne Gretsky (men's hockey gold), needed to clear their schedules. In the morning we will leave for Aspen aboard Mr. Gretsky's private jet. Tonight we are shopping in the new fashion village for afternoon tea formal attire. Let's pack some fresh pacific salmon to take with us for the tea.

,
.

CHRISTMAS IS COMING.....

2009-11-28T07:30:00.003-05:00

Christmas Card Art, Artist Unknown

This blog is in memory of Mary.

Mary played the piano at my school and I lead the choir for years, way too many years. We usually had 120-150 voices in our school choir because there were no auditions, ever. If you behaved and practiced, you could join. We sang at the Veteran's Hospital for Remembrance Day, we sang at every school concert and we sang at senior's homes every spring. Under Mary's leadership, our school developed a real community choir.

Mary had a repertoire of Disney Songs, some standards from the 50's, a few rounds and new songs foisted on her every year by the music department for the festival. She worked hard polishing up the old songs for events all year. Favorites included My Favorite Things, Doh a Deer, When the Saints Go Marching In, Yellow Bird, Let There Be Peace On Earth and Sing A Song of Spring. Besides all this, Mary could play so many Christmas tunes as well.

At Christmas time in our school gym we held a concert every year. We included many holiday traditions in our concert and for years we would close it with "Christmas is coming". We sang this song as a round in four parts, singing the song through three times, to the end, building and fading. It sounded brilliant, every year. This is probably the song I will miss most from Mary.
She passed away on August 22, 2009 (cancer), one year after her retirement.

"Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat,
Please put a penny in the old man's hat.
If you haven't got a penny, a ha'penny will do,
If you haven't got a ha'penny, then God bless you."

This is NOT my school choir in this You Tube Video. We had many more singers than this. But this will give you an idea of the very pretty sound we had.

READ,WRITE PROMPT #102: FOOD

2009-11-26T08:03:00.002-05:00

I borrowed structure and style from one of my all time favorite poets, Robert Frost. This tongue in cheek version of his more famous poem was written, keeping in mind the great respect and admiration I hold in my heart for Mr. Frost's poetry. I am thankful I was born after Robert Frost published, I am thankful I was born after pumpkin pie was discovered and I am most thankful for poetry prompts and kind comments that encourage my expressive ideas. Thank you also to Deb Scott for the "food" prompt. Are you a foodie Deb?=D

photo courtesy of photobucket

The Pumpkin Pie Not Taken

Two roads diverged 'neath suburban skies
Where a yellow pumpkin lay squashed. Reaction?
"Oh happy day!" my husband cries,
"That makes one less pumpkin pie!"
While his car gingerly swerves for traction.

For many a year, "Muckin Pie" was the fare
And perhaps young Mikey's better claim,
Because of the mess that this sweet boy would wear
Pie squashed on his face and pie squashed in his hair,
Every Thanksgiving, was worn the same.

The morning after Thanksgiving lay
Warmly spiced pie pieces, still in their plates.
My husband devoured the apple that day!
While I gnawed the last bits of pumpkin away,
Those leftover fruits of the harvest were great!

I will share these aromas.. fresh cinnamon.. (sigh),
My recipes written for ages hence:
How to prepare a baked pumpkin pie,
And apple; because in my husband's eye
That would make all the difference.

2009-11-25T11:15:00.003-05:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING AMERICA!

The people in our house wish
the people in your house a wonderfully, happy holiday.
To the people who are overseas fighting for our freedom, thank you.

Thank you for all of your love and support this year as we continue to deal with our health issues.

The Giller Prize: The Bishop's Man, a review

2009-11-22T08:14:00.007-05:00

My review of The Bishop's Man by Linden MacIntyre

Over at Pics and Poems this fall, Dave King was eagerly anticipating the Man Booker International Award for fiction. As I recall, he had purchased some of the nominated books and was interested to hear which writer had won the prize. One of his previously purchased books, Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel did win the coveted prize and I think at some point, he will be posting a review on that book. He has already written a blog about a close runner up for the Man Booker, The Glass Room by Simon Mawer, and his review was so enticing (he couldn't put the book down), I nearly went out and bought the book myself. I still might. You can read his review here.

In the middle of all this international excitement, Canada was revving up for the more humble Giller Prize, our own homegrown rendition of a prize for fiction. Being a true Canadian, I reasoned that perhaps I should read what my own country had to offer in terms of literary achievement before I got all caught up in the international version. So I went with that. The Giller Prize was given out November 9th in Canada and the winner was The Bishop's Man by Linden MacIntyre. Without hesitation I went out, purchased a copy of the book and read it. What follows is my review.

The story for the most part, takes place in settings intimately familiar to me. Most of the book happens in Cape Breton Island a place I have visited. Other locations are Toronto where I live, Guelph where my daughter lives and then there are visits to more remote settings that are peripheral and not really important to the development of the story, Central America, the Caribbean and Newfoundland. I have not been to any of the peripheral locations.

My visit to Cape Breton Island was one of the happiest experiences of my life, it was a wonderful vacation! Driving the Cabot Trail in the late afternoon was breathtaking. My husband and I were in our red hot Sunfire, a rented car that was very sexy. We drove the climbing trails along the highland coast that provide panoramic views of the St. Lawrence Gulf, where it merges with the ocean. As we navigated our way back down the trail, a hawk spotted our car and sailed down from the heights with us. The enormous span of his wing to the tip looked only a few feet distant from the car window and he stayed there for five to ten minutes, soaring down the rounded mountain side with us, back to sea level. As quickly as the hawk arrived, he was gone. Welcome to Cape Breton Island. Home of fiddle music, dancing and Alexander Graham Bell, the grandfather of telecommunications. We had a blast!

"Sextus jokes that the place has a bipolar personality. Sunshine makes it garrulous and sexy and reassuring. Under fog, or the lowering clouds that occupy the sky for long periods of time, it becomes dour and melancholy."
from the Bishop's Man pg.386, Linden MacIntyre

The tone of the Bishop's Man is dour and melancholy and hangs like a fog over Cape Breton, Toronto and Guelph, all these places of my heart. The story is lonely and sad, the crux of the story horrific and the characters have very few qualities to recommend them as people you would want to invite into your life. They are needy, and drug dependent with little motivation to better themselves.

Having said all that, it is interesting that Linden MacIntyre by trade, is an investigative reporter. His gift is in speaking with people and he knows how to work a conversation into an interview. Stories are discussed that maybe should have stayed buried in a locked vault in someone's brain. The whole book moves through character development and through the plot in these animated conversations that are manifest in the gossip of small towns. There in lies the brilliance of the book I think. Unlike books of classical literature which contain pages upon pages of poignant descriptions almost poetic in their metaphors, this book MacIntyre wrote, is carried on dialogue interspersed with small vignettes of foreshadowing and illusion including meaningful but very minimal descriptions.

Since the book revolves around loneliness and alienation it is a fascinating paradox that the plot is driven by animated conversations. Through out the pages, too much alcohol is consumed, too many personal spaces are violated and too many reverent institutions are dragged through the muck. This book visits all the nooks and crannies we all desire to ignore. The main focus of the book is the discussion of celibacy and it's ramifications for Catholic priests. And the ecologically friendly, woman-empowered girl who is writing THIS review, doesn't want to get started on a discussion of sex and the Catholic Church!

READ,WRITE PROMPT #101: THE "P" WORDLE

2009-11-19T07:37:00.006-05:00

picture courtesy of photobucket

Living in The Valley of the Shadow of the Himalayas

Pernicious brown clouds hang over the Himalayas,
and a plethora of black carbon amasses there.
If this continues, the glacial mountain ice will perish, forever.
Spring melts will no longer seep into streams
that run in a profuse processional
down through the porous places of the rocky facades.
No icy water will prickle the rock faces
Of these majestic mountains ever again.
Eventually, this water processional is destined to feed
the meandering rivers of the canyons
with the necessary water to quench the thirst
of the huge populations of peoples
living in the valley of the shadow of the Himalayas.

These peoples of South Asia, a polyglot community
of indigenous families forage and struggle to survive.
Their simple repast of rice and peas is cooked daily
on billions of small family stove pots.
The plenitudinous stove pots are fired up with fuel
collected from biological sources and coal.
These family fires burn profuse brown smoke
and black carbon plastered together
in a pernicious mass that hangs over the Himalayas.
Where the ancient glacial ice will be gone in fifty years, melted.

Platitudes about alternative energy sources cannot
stop this cataclysmic cycle of dehydration.
Would a parallelogram of forces produce the magnitude
to overcome the scope of this looming catastrophe?
Will someone deliver a billion solar stoves?
To procrastinate on solutions will worsen the outcome
and posthumous prayers offer little hope for the planet.
Never mind those pernicious brown clouds
hanging over the Himalayas.

READ,WRITE PROMPT #100: DREAMS

2009-11-12T07:55:00.003-05:00

This week, in honor of Prompt 100, we have a guest prompter, celebrity poet Bruce Covey. Bruce would like us to write a poem about our dreams.

Bruce says that the task this week won’t yield a well-honed masterpiece, but the odds are good — if we’re honest with ourselves and the text we’re producing — we’ll create something which sparkles in its own unruly way.

Here is my dreamy, sparkle attempt. Thank you, Mr. Covey for the prompt and for your helpful planning tips.

Courtesy of Chillicat, photobucket

Dancing Differently Through My Dreams

so many people
navigate my dream space
colleagues, acquaintances
people I don't know
swirling spirits, energizing light
searching for answers
and portals to places unknown
that funny lady made us laugh
untwisting genomes, t-squares
and double helixed DNA
looking for clues, updates, some validity
drawn to rooms leading to rooms
infinite illusions of space
time and interest
never wanting to leave
always lit with refracted light
crystalized vitality and
prisms with pizzazz
these are the rainbows
that dance differently
through my dreams

My Great Grandmother, her husband and children

2009-11-08T09:13:00.007-05:00

This is a story about John and Elizabeth (McCutcheon) Muir. They are my maternal great grandparents.

John Muir was born January 25, 1866 in Larkhall, Lanarkshire Scotland and like his father (Robert) before him, John cared for the pit ponies in the coal mines of Lesmahogbow. I have no photograph.

Elizabeth McCutcheon was born February 2, 1866 in Dalserf which is very close in proximity to Larkhall, just south of Motherwell. Elizabeth had her own tailoring shop in Motherwell.

After their marriage on November 2, 1888, John and Elizabeth raised four children. First born was my grandmother, Elizabeth Muir, March 5, 1889, followed by her three brothers, Frank, Louis and Hugh. By the time World War One erupted, 1914-1918, John and Elizabeth's children were almost full grown. My grandmother was married to David by then and had three children of her own, Betty, David and Isabel. Her three brothers Frank and Louis were young men, ready to begin their lives and Hugh was not yet 16 years old. When World War One began, Frank enlisted in the Navy, Louis enlisted with the 8th Battalion Gordon Highlanders and off they went to fight the war. Both brothers died at sea. Louis, October 9, 1915 and Frank a year later on November 13, 1916.

By the end of World War One, John and Elizabeth's family of six had become a family of four, only children Elizabeth and Hugh remained. That is exactly the time automobile production was beginning in North America and opportunities were abundant. My grandfather's sister Isabella (the Bells) packed up and headed to Detroit after the war. My grandparents, David and Elizabeth missed the Bells immensely and in 1924 David and Elizabeth migrated to Toronto, with their children who now numbered six (and would eventually become seven), to be closer to the Bells who lived in Detroit.

By 1924, John and Elizabeth (McCutcheon) Muir, who had lost two sons in the war, were now separated from their only daughter Elizabeth and all of their grandchildren. The only offspring in their home to celebrate Christmas 1924 was Hugh. Sadly, John Muir passed away 8 years later in 1932 and not long after that, Hugh left for Australia. Hugh was never heard from again. We think he may have been captured by the Japanese on the Island of Nauru in 1940. He may have died as a prisoner of war. Great Grandmother, Elizabeth sold her tailoring business in Motherwell after World War Two and used the money to travel to Australia to search for Hugh. She never found him.

On her return trip, she stopped in Toronto to visit her only remaining child, daughter Elizabeth and her seven grandchildren. During her stay, Great Grandmother passed away March 7, 1948 at 82 years of age. Most of her seven grandchildren had served Canada in some capacity during World War Two. All seven grandchildren survived the war.

The Weaver of Grass says, "there are no winners in any war - everyone looses." I agree with her.

It's not only about the lives sacrificed at the time of war, but the repercussions to surviving family and communities who have to endure the loss, overcome the stress and rebuild from the bottom up.

I want to say thank you this week to my Great Uncles Louis and Frank for their war time heroic sacrifice, to Hugh where ever you ended up, to all of my Aunts and Uncles for their service during the war, to my Dad who served in the Navy and my Mom who served in the Army thoughts, prayers, love, hugs and kisses. To John and Elizabeth Muir, you are responsible for raising many heroes. You are a part of the reason Scotland and Canada and all of our allied countries are free today. Blessings. Thank you so much Great Grandfather John and Great Grandmother Elizabeth (McCutcheon) Muir.

Read and Write Prompt #90-The East Block Extravaganza 1973.

2009-11-05T12:35:00.000-05:00

get your poem on #99
by Andre Tan

This week we were supposed find out what it feels like to tell a story without literally describing what happens? Does writing to this week’s prompt come easily to you, or does it end up being a drama or comedy of errors? Let everyone know how it went, and share your work in the comments! Thank you for the prompt, Andre!

The East Block Extravaganza 1973.

it was plain.
the white washed greying walls of the East Block corridor
seemed to have a float glass mirror at the back
which took the army surplus paint still clinging to the plaster
and thrust it into a never ending reflective place
where on and on and on, the hallway extended forever.

the hallway doors were made of wood,
were made so flat and flanked the floor
in an off set rhythm of locks and knobs and hinges
tooled in the factories that mass produced equipment
for the last great war,
back in the days when Hermes Pan
was directing the steps to yet another Fred and Ginger
box office smash hit.
every wood door was white and indistinguishable
from the hundreds of other hallway doors
except for the numbers adorning the facade
which rendered each door face unique.

through this long, boring, hallway
where function mattered more than form
we tred the never ending distance on soft soles
transporting the baby in a carrier.

behind each of the hundreds of soundless doors
men, who would in future years be remembered
as 'the civil service geek squad' were kept busy
carrying the government through the days before internet
every servant was too small to 'make it' on a pro sports team
every servant was freshly barbered 'close and neat'
every servant wore dark glasses, white shirts and thin grey ties
every servant looked like a chorus line dancer
who knew their place moving in unison without identity
these people had a sense about what they did mattering more
than who they were. a place in a world where
only personalities like Hermes Pan and Fred Astaire collected Oscars.

into these Houses of Parliament in Ottawa
into these corridors of power
into these days before disco
into these remnants of army surplus and geeks
the five month old baby summoned the spirit of Hermes Pan

the Spirit of Pan arrived with his invisible clapboard
and in an attention grabbing 'take one' from a Hollywood musical
worked with the baby to develop a scene,
where every door along that government hallway flew open at the same instant
and every geek, with the fineness of a pro athlete came out from behind each door
like carbon copies
and stood gawking in an absolute unified silence.

altogether one hundred clone heads at one hundred doors
staring in choreographed horror at the place
where the glass bottle dropped
and exploded on the unyielding granite floor
making the only hallway sound.
a smashed hit.

each man standing agog, eyes moving from the baby to
the glassy, broken bottle bits swimming in spilt milk.

then the silence softly vanished as
the men heaved a collective sigh, one hundred voices strong
like they had practiced this sequence for months.

and in the next moment, every geek
returned to their own inner sanctuaries
closing all the doors behind them
making a sound in the hallway that resembled
the final singular click of only one tap shoe
directed by the spirit of Hermes Pan
with assistance from the baby.

Our Highway of Heroes

2009-11-02T07:52:00.007-05:00

For the past four years, on Remembrance Day in Canada, I have made sure the students at my school know all the reasons why Canadian Soldiers are fighting terrorism in Afghanistan. Our troops have staged an uphill battle there, working with the Afghani people to try to stabilize the terror. Stories like the time Canadian Soldiers bought kites for most of the Afghani children in Kabul. (The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini 2003) . Stories like the Canadian Teachers who bravely go to Afghanistan to teach in Afghani girl's schools. Doctors, construction workers, well diggers and journalists travel to Afghanistan to help bring empowerment back into the very hearts the world has spent decades bombing. Yes, there are sad stories and bad stories and oh so many set backs. But the soldiers go on, the work (building wells, roads, schools and infrastructure) continues. And our Canadian Soldiers, with their Allied Forces, tow that long dangerous road.
I support the soldiers efforts. I thank them whole heartedly.

When they are killed in the line of duty, we have spontaneously gone out on the bridges to pay our last respects, saying a final thank you to the fallen soldiers. And a huge debt of gratitude to the families of the soldiers who have lost their sons and daughters in this seemingly endless battle. Our office towers on Bay Street are safer because of what your children are doing in Afghanistan. You have our love and support forever.

I wear red every Friday. I sell poppies at my school. We send letters when we can. Soldiers visit our school to talk to us about what Canadian Soldiers do. And we stand on the bridges of the Highway of Heroes, when our fallen soldiers are repatriated (the process of returning a person back to one's place of origin or citizenship). We stand watch on their drive with their families from Trenton to the coroner's office in Toronto. We salute the motorcades as they pass under the bridge. We send love, prayers and gratitude to them from the top of the bridge and when we are done, we say a prayer that this will be our last time we will ever need to do this.

Bob Reid, who is a DJ at a popular Toronto radio station, has written a song, which I love and sing out loud every time I get the chance. It talks about our Highway of Heroes. Although I have been singing this song for over a year now and I know all the words, the official version is coming out tomorrow. I will buy it because part of the proceeds will go to support the soldiers who are wounded in the line of duty.

"You are our country's bravest ones and you make us proud Canadians!"
by Bob Reid 2009

Highway of Heroes by Bob Reid

2009-11-01T09:17:00.002-05:00

Bob Reid is a friend of Barry's brother Keith. I love this song Mr. Reid wrote and I am featuring it here until Remembrance Day.

I think this is the old version. The new official version comes out tomorrow. I will endeavor to repost.

The McMichael Art Gallery

2009-10-26T08:14:00.008-04:00

Barry begins chemo treatments again tomorrow. Since his new chemo treatments will shut down his immune system and since it is flu season, avoiding germs is the order of the day. Barry gets chemo Tuesday, the next chemo in mid November and I am guessing the final treatment will be during the first two weeks of December, which pretty much isolates Barry and I from most of the Yuletide Seasonal festivities this year.

Barry has had a flu shot for seasonal flu but not H1N1 yet. I have had neither shot yet, (I'm not at risk). Saturday is Hallowe'en and all the little gremlins with their H1N1 germs will be knocking at our door. There are plans to be made. The immune problem becomes more of an issue as the chemo progresses, so the riskiest time will be mid November until January, through out the Christmas season.

Just in case that is the reality, we assembled the children at really short notice. We made Saturday plans to get together and then see you again in January sort of thing. We chose Kleinberg.

Kleinberg is a small town north west of Toronto. If the weather is bad, you can visit the famous art gallery. If the weather is good, the Kortright Conservation area just down the road, is a wonderful hiking in the autumn woods place. Either location would be good for our little active grandchildren. Afterwards, we had made reservations for dinner at Vinnie Zuchinni's a nearby Italian eatery that caters to large crowds. We had a party of ten. The weather was pretty dicey, so to begin our day out we started at the art gallery.

All the art in the gallery is Canadian. Most of the art is the Group of Seven, Canada's Impressionists. We had a wonderful time! I had a long visit with my daughter Heather. I had many hugs from the grandchildren and I stole some kisses. There was plenty of running around space outside the gallery before dinner.

Inside the gallery, we kept the children (two eight year olds and a six year old) busy drawing. We brought pencils and sketch books. They had fun. One adult supervised while the others walked the gallery. We took turns. The children worked intently on their drawings, busily including the details we encouraged them to include. The six year old Griffin, found a work of art he wanted to try and copy. He spent a very quiet half hour working on copying the most illuminated picture he could see in the room. "Here Mommy. Look what I drew!"

Yes, it was the "exit" sign.

Here is something Tom Thompson drew and painted, typical of art displayed in this gallery.

And here are my little artisits busily engaged in their artwork.

We have photographs, sketches and memories to remember our time together.

FRIDAY SHOOT OUT: CLASSICS OF CHILDHOOD

2009-10-22T23:16:00.007-04:00

In my childhood the classic that stood out as extraordinary was Betty.
Here is the picture of my family's four Bettys. (a.k.a. Elizabeth)

On the left, in the back row, is Betty Gibson, my Aunt. On the right, in the back row, is Betty Murphy, my cousin (Betty Gibson's daughter). In the front row on the left, is Betty (Elizabeth) Muir, my maternal Great Grandmother. She owned a tailor shop in Motherwell, Scotland. Finally, in the front row on the right is Betty(she liked Lizzy better) Lindsay, my Grandmother (maternal). .

This shoot out classic is about Betty Murphy my cousin who was Miss Toronto in 1953. Back in the day, she was something! She won a trip to Miami for being Miss Toronto. As she departed the plane in Miami, a photographer snapped her picture. His name was Pat Murphy. He worked for the Miami Herald. They fell in love, did Betty and Pat. He eventually came to own the Miami Herald and other newspapers in the United States. They lived in Miami, then Phoenix Arizona and now they live in Boise Idaho. Betty's life has included White House Dinners, Kings and Princes, a Royal Palace and Ski Trips to Switzerland on the Concorde. She was really something, still is!

When she married Pat, Betty chose my sister Margaret for her flower girl. Her wedding was in all the Toronto papers. My mom made me a blue velvet dress. I was four. My sister wore yellow silk. It was a wedding to remember!

It was a real blue velvet dress with fingerprints all over it because I never stopped touching it.

2009-10-20T21:50:00.004-04:00

ELECTRICITY AND U2

I am a person who has energy efficient appliances. I turn off the light when I leave a room, if no one is in it. I let my hair dry naturally as frequently as I can get away with it. I avoid ironing as much as possible and I do not own a microwave or a dishwasher. Why? Well, I am really concerned about electricity. I shut the house down and turn off all the electricity from time to time. I do as much as I can to conserve electricity. I'm not perfect, but I am working on it.

I love U2. Their music is very cool. They were in town a month ago for two concerts at the A.C.C. Their stage was so large it covered the whole A.C.C. It took nine mac trucks to bring the stage parts to Toronto. Nine other mac trucks were packing up the stage in Chicago while the group played Toronto. At the same time nine more mac trucks were taking another stage to New Jersey for concerts there. That's twenty-seven mac trucks for one band. The diesel fuel for all those trucks not to mention any aircraft this group might use is considerable. Their stage/concert requires the use of one million watts of power for each performance.
For their visit for two shows the group used two million watts of power.

Bigger is better, I know the world we live in. I am working so hard to keep my electricity needs at a minimum. I have a difficult time understanding the greatness of U2 performances when they think they need 1 million watts of power to make their music great. Their music is great. I don't need a million watts of power to enjoy it.

There is a human factor here. Listening to a person play an instrument is always fun. There is something to be said for the intimate exchange that happens. Why do we need to use a million watts of power for that experience? Does it enhance it?
I think the experience looses the human factor when the concert is so overpowering. With energy coming into a crisis I think everyone should be thinking of ways to reduce our dependency on electricity.

hydro field picture courtesy of photobucket

2009-10-19T21:21:00.005-04:00

BLOG ACTION CLIMATE CHANGE DAY WAS OCTOBER 15TH.

This week because it is a favorite rant, I am dedicating my blogs all week to this cause. My new area of inquiry centers around electricity and our need for so much of it. I suppose to this end everything is a judgement call. Is the use of computers for blogging a justifiable reason to use electricity? Are rock concerts a worthwhile reason? What about video games? Television? Is there a time coming when use of electricity will be very limited and very expense to access? I can only think yes.

The water in our world is not falling far or fast enough to power our electricity needs. The wind is not blowing hard or fast enough to meet the demand either. The only way we can keep up with demand in this world inhabited by so many electricity
users is to explode uranium, which for obvious reasons is not very popular. Other unpopular but well used electricity creating methods are to burn natural gas and coal. We all know at some point the uranium, the natural gas and the coal will run out, then what will we do? The predicted date for running out of coal is 2056. That's not too far off. Uranium due to heavy
demand is predicted to run out around the same time. Estimates for the world natural gas supply that is left is 63 years. These numbers of course are estimates and based on demands, which keep rising.

Burning fossil fuels, gas coal and uranium, puts tons of carbon into the air and the world is heating up. Our earth has a fever and the fever is rising. The glaciers and ice covering parts of the earth will be melted, the temperature of the earth will rise and
then what? According to scientists 5 degrees + or- is critical to our survival. What can we do?

coal plant and coal pictures courtesy of free images on google

FRIDAY SHOOT OUT: SET, SET, SET, RISE, SET, RISING SUN

2009-10-15T14:58:00.008-04:00

As the sparklers light while the sun sets over Canada Day....

As the clouds gather while the sun sets over the Wild Geese flying south.....

As the boats are tethered while the sun sets over the harbour......

As the coffee brews while the sun rises over the cottage.....

As the lights are turned on while the sun sets over the city.....

"In the rising sun, you can feel your life begin
Universe at play inside your DNA
You're a billion years old today
Oh the rising sun and the place it's coming from
Is inside of you
And now your payment's overdue
Oh the rising sun,
Oh the rising sun,
Oh the rising sun."

Head for the Hills....

2009-10-14T09:20:00.005-04:00

The Royal revelers left for another party in the hills of Gatineau, Quebec this morning. Willow commented that she was bowled over by the sheer number of Royals turning up... and why wouldn't they? The Manor Ball has to be the cyber event of the year! HRH loves to dance and so she spent a long time enjoying strathspeys and a few reels. She stayed on to watch the Sailor's Hornpipe that we ordered up especially for the Sullivans. Then, returned later on for the "Stardust Ceilidh" compliments of Francis Tyrell and her Magic Elfen entourage. I'm happy she enjoyed herself. Wasn't that a party?

About Charles and Camilla, I do not know what they were into. It could have been the Drambuie from TFE. Susie Hemingway and I were a little put off by his bared knees and snorting. Camilla was away in the ladies room for what seemed an eternity. Miss*R came by in the evening, when things were calmer, after that glorious dinner at the manor (Willow, what a spread!) and had a chat with Charles about Organic Gardening. They had a lovely talk and several interested guests obtained some great pointers. They talked about what things needed "hilled up" before the frost. The Prince turned out to be very "princely" after all.

People were surprised by Elton John and Sarah Ferguson. I have to say Bernie and Elton are building a house north of Toronto in the Caledon Hills. Fergie is in and out from New York as a consultant for something or other, so they were around anyway. It was nice of them to visit

W.A. Mozart and Chris Wolf came by to entertain us with their music around the dinner hour. Their performance was not to be missed! It was breathtaking!

Several guests commented on how delightful it was to finally get a chance to meet Rosamunde Pilcher. I concur. I have read all of her books and I often comment to people that I like the way she is able to paint pictures with her words. It's like she uses words to paint watercolor pictures of Devon cottages. Alas, she has returned to the Grampion Hills. Barry enjoyed meeting Ian Rankin as he has read all of his books. Ms. Piggy was happy that Harry Potter turned up with JK Rowlings. Potter and the Pig were off on a broom adventure over Lake Erie and the hills of the Niagara Escarpment at one point. I'm not surprised she turned up in the sauna!

The authors that graced our "mini-satellite party" were generally more popular than the the Royal Family. Guests enjoyed the opportunity to talk to Ken Follett too. At the end of the night, TFE came and collected my Morgan Roadster and headed for the hills. Where has he gone? Goodness knows. Right now Barry and I are heading for the hills somewhere along the northerly banks of the Ohio River for brunch. Are you joining us? Barry and I had a blast! Thank you Willow!

HAVING FUN!!!!!!! at the Willow Manor Ball

2009-10-13T07:35:00.000-04:00

I read Rosamunde Pilcher's book "September", I watch royal news and I know they have Autumnal Balls in Scotland that Royalty attends, in their kilts. That Barry and I have never attended one is an oversight that is about to be remedied. We are "In the Scottish Room" of the Manor Ball at Willow Manor and we have invited a few Royals plus some literary types (to give themselves a break from writing books) gathered from the Scottish countryside and some from further afield.

What are we wearing? Barry's cousins from the North Coast of Scotland, (near Fraserburg) had this handmade dance wear designed and sent over last Christmas. Here is cousin Angus and Gaye Gordon modeling our Manor Ball attire.

OOOOHHH, more guests are arriving................

Is it Ken Follett?

Dan Brown?

JK Rowlings?

Ian Rankin?

Rosamunde Pilcher?

Her Majesty?

The Royal Family?

Prince Charles is really having a great time here Willow!

Can you spot any of us on the dance floor? Would you like to try some reels or a strathspey?

IF YOU ARE THIRSTY OR HUNGRY CHECK THE NEXT POST DOWN, FOOD AND DRINK...
WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE? =D

Food and Drink

2009-10-12T10:29:00.005-04:00

Welcome to the party. Would you care for a martini?

Michael Smith who I have met and once made Clam Chowder for me, has written several cookbooks, I have two autographed copies. He has his own television show, The Inn Chef, Chef at Large, Chef at Home and Chef Abroad.

What can we rustle up to tempt your taste buds?

When Willow drops in........... we have Autumn Chocolate wrapped in gold at Godiva

IT'S THANKSGIVING IN CANADA!

2009-10-11T20:02:00.002-04:00

FRIDAY SHOOT OUT: SILHOUETTE SAFARI

2009-10-08T09:34:00.010-04:00

Spider Monkey's silhouette is creeping all around

Pink Flamingo silhouettes with both feet on the ground

Some striped zebra silhouettes, I have counted three

This gigantic silhouette, is an elephant I see

And in the waters calm and blue the seals aren't silhouettes
No Natasha for this picture, YOU'RE THE SILHOUETTE!

From Chipmunks to Cha-Cha-Cha

2009-10-06T06:54:00.007-04:00

During this part of October here in the eastern woodlands, we are usually lucky enough to come into some beautiful summery weather. Just at a time when one is thinking it will get colder and colder, along comes a couple of weeks or a few days when warmth happens. Traditionally in the eastern woodlands, this time of year is known as "Indian Summer". Indian Summer gives the little woodland creatures a little bit longer before the frost, to gather up their nuts and seeds to squirrel away for the coming winter months.

A week or so ago, Willow of Willow Manor, posted a blog about chipmunks. Chipmunks are enjoyable, social little forest friends and while I was reading her blog, I remembered this picture of our eldest daughter and a story from a time when we were camping at Restoule, near the French River.

While we were camping, and the young lady in the picture was only five, we awoke one morning to find a friendly chipmunk scurrying around, looking for some food. The little guy was lucky we had a little left over bacon, some sunflower seeds and some peanut butter and crackers.

Our five year old and her three year old sister discovered the little chipmunk kept returning to a tree stump a few feet away. I suggested they take some food to leave on the tree stump and then stand back quietly. Sure enough, the chipmunk came and got the food from the tree stump. For the next hour, while Barry and I were enjoying our morning coffee, the children were busy running back and forth with food bits for the chipmunk.

Eventually and before the chipmunk had run off with all of our food for the next day, we had to tell the girls that this chipmunk has had enough food and that was all we were going to give him. The girls were not happy taking over the last bits of food.
"How can we keep him here mommy?" they asked. I had no idea what to do.
"Why don't you sing him a song?" I suggested. "He might like that." I imagined since the girls had been attending nursery school they may remember a song or two from circle time.

After a few moments of whispering back and forth, the song they came up with was O Canada. Barry and I were working hard trying not to choke on our coffee while we were trying not to laugh. As both the girls stood at attention to sing the anthem, that little patriotic chipmunk stopped eating and stood up on his hind legs on the tree stump staring at the girls for the whole performance. When the girls were done, the chipmunk grabbed the last few bits of sunflower seeds in his puffed up cheeks and scurried away to his forest home. Barry soon gathered up the girls to go to the beach for the morning while I finished rinsing out the coffee mugs. We locked the rest of our food in the trunk of the car and off we went.

Please remember, it is only a week until Willow is hosting her Manor Ball. Barry and I are planning to attend and have been discussing formal attire and what dances we might enjoy. Perhaps we may be able to find enough interested parties for some Scottish Country Dancing. I will have to practice my pas de basques.

FRIDAY SHOOT OUT: THE AIR CANADA CENTRE, A BUILDING STUDY

2009-10-02T00:18:00.002-04:00

For the National Hockey League, televised games began their broadcasts for the 2009-2010 winter season last night. In the Eastern Woodlands, it is officially hockey season and so, in the spirit of the sport, I chose the Air Canada Centre as my building to do an in depth study, from the outside.

The Air Canada Centre (A.C.C.), was original constructed as The Postal Delivery Building for the City of Toronto and was commissioned by the Public Works Department in 1938. The design chosen for the building was by Charles Broomall Dolphin and is considered to be an "Art Deco" design. Art Deco architecture, like the Chrysler Building in New York City, was a popular design movement from 1925 until the 1940's. Sweeping lines and streamlining are design elements of the art deco movement. The Postal Station was completed between 1939 and 1941. The exterior of the building has many interesting aspects that have been preserved in the transformation from a Postal Delivery Station to a Sports and Entertainment Complex for the City of Toronto. Look for rounded corners, linear designs that move the eye around the building and the idea of modernness.

The street entrance to the Air Canada Centre from Bay Street is a round revolving door.

The lines of the columns draw your eye up and down the building, while the windows take your eye around the building. Even the windows, as well as the corners are rounded not square.

The windows in this picture draw your eyes up and down the height of the building, in a thin, streamlined view. Notice the rounded edges.

Inside, in the huge atrium, with ceilings three stories up, sits the ticket counter. The counter has a modern sleek look from the 1940's. The look of the ticket counter compliments the building's design.

The excitement of the inside, captured in a montage of photos displayed in the atrium. "GO LEAFS GO!"

The most brilliant feature of the Air Canada Centre is the bas relief carvings decorating the rounded corners of the building. Originally designed and carved by Louis Temporale Sr., who received the Order of Canada for his brilliant work, the reliefs describe how messages were delivered in the Eastern Woodlands. The reliefs depict message deliveries from primative times until the 1950's. Some of those reliefs are shown here.

In the 1950's, common beliefs were of early people living in caves and shouting messages to one another.

Later on, messages were delivered by First Peoples and Voyagers along waterways by canoe.

Or through the snow on dog sled teams. There are many more reliefs by Louis Temporale Sr., decorating the exterior of the Air Canada Centre, which I will share in a future blog about this man.

From the stone tiles of the square to the rear of the building, enhanced by large Maple Leaf motifs, to the art deco design of the building, including the bas reliefs, the Air Canada Centre is an artistic marvel.

If you are arriving from buses, subways or trains, you enter the Air Canada Centre through these doors at the back of the Go Station, which is the least stressful approach. Driving downtown is often chaotic.

In last night's opening game between Montreal and Toronto, both teams were tied for most of the three periods of the game. The final Montreal goal that gave Montreal the win 4-3, was Toronto's attempt at demonstrating our hospitality to our rival team. =D

Dear Bonnie (O.A.S.)

2009-09-27T08:12:00.003-04:00

Dear Bonnie(original art studio) and all my other blogging friends,

I have decided to run off with that Barry guy to Muskoka for a week of fun and frolic. The leaves will be beautiful and our spirits will be refreshed when we return. I really think you are correct Bonnie. He does like me! =D

I am trying not to post next week because being a teacher, I stress too much about spellings and grammar. I will only do the read, write prompt and the shoot out. Where we are going has a spa, hiking trails in the woods with colored leaves, a dark night sky and observatory and streets of pretty little shops and restaurants.

We are staying on Fairy Lake, Francis. I will try to make enquiries about the name and I will check under the toadstools.

To Muncle Steve of blog legend, (see previous posts) we are entrusting the care of our beloved dog, Lindsay, because he lives in the flat attached to our house and he agreed to mind her. Lengthy car trips are stressful for her. Have a good week everyone and we will be back Thursday. Thank you for all your prayers and good wishes.
Love, Linda

FRIDAY SHOOT OUT: MY FAVORITE PLACE TO________

2009-09-24T23:03:00.009-04:00

"Still round the corner there may wait, A new road or a secret gate."
J. R. R. Tolkien. My favorite place to walk through a gate.........

"The Canadian metropolis on the shore of Lake Ontario is recognizable around the world thanks to the presence of the CN Tower, which soars 1,815 feet above the city." Forbes Magazine
My favorite place to admire the skyline

And according to the University of Western Australia's John Fitzpatrick, the pioneer of natural selection would have rejoiced in the evolutionary laboratory that is East Africa's Lake Tanganyika, which Fitpatrick calls a "a kind of nirvana".
"It's been dubbed Darwin's dream pond," Fitzpatrick says of Tanganyika.
My favorite place to watch the fish.

The upper floor of the house consists of working studio spaces where engaging hands-on creative arts programs are offered for all ages. Every year more than 1,000 adults enjoy the benefits of the low student/teacher ratio and highly qualified instructors.
My favorite place to paint.

The idyllic Scarborough Bluffs are a scenic treasure. Whether one’s looking to relax after a day of activities or an evening of entertainment is just beginning, Bluffer’s Restaurant is a key stop at this local attraction.
My favorite place to enjoy a summer luncheon.

My favorite place to walk or rest, just take a load off!

And my favorite place to blog? Is right here. There is nowhere else on the planet where the people are so caring and supportive. Thank you Shoot-Out Team for the love and good wishes!

As the Sun Sets on Summer

2009-09-23T07:14:00.009-04:00

This picture is taken from the new waterfront at Pickering, which is on the western shore of Frenchman's Bay. The bay is tucked in along the northwest shore of Lake Ontario. The view looks out across Frenchman's Bay to the opposite shore which is Scarborough, my neck of the woods. I live on that peninsula jutting out into the lake, somewhere not far from those three bright, rectangular white lights.

As I walk along the boardwalk this evening, I am looking back across the bay to where I live and my thoughts are drifting to the colours in the beautiful sunset, now washing across the sky. This is the final sunset of this summer. The wisps of clouds I see remind me of the wings of Canada Geese. In fact, that bottom cloud out in front could be a goose in flight. It is almost as if Mother Nature is reminding the birds that autumn is here and they better start warming up for their migration next month.

I was noticing lots of wing flapping as I stood on the boardwalk, snapping this photo. The geese were beginning to group into their 'V' formations and fly in spurts between the Ganaraska Hills to the north and out over the lake to the south, then back to shore. Their activity makes the other animals restless and fidgety. The onset of cooler weather and more windy conditions adds to the feeling of fall restlessness.

Sixty years ago, when I was born, there were three popular songs on the hit parade that influenced my life. One song had these words and was sung by Frankie Lane.....

My heart knows what the wild goose knows,
I must go where the wild goose goes.
Wild goose, brother goose, which is best?
A wanderin' fool or a heart at rest?

Tonight I heard the wild goose cry,
Wingin' north in the lonely sky.
Tried to sleep, it weren't no use,
'Cause I am a brother to the old wild goose,

Let me fly, let me fly, let me fly away.

My mother used to say that I made a sound like a wild goose when I was a baby, if I needed mothering. She would sing this song as she cared for me. Was I a honker back then? Maybe I used to get into a flap or perhaps I acted like a silly goose. What ever the reason was, I am sure the "let me fly away" part, was a thought that probably crossed my mother's mind more than once or twice.

Another popular song sung by Jerry Vale, went like this,
"When I go to sleep, I never count sheep, I count all the charms about Linda."
Do you know how many girls were named Linda that year? I had 8 Lindas in my grade 11 science class. I had three friends named Linda, I have a cousin and a sister-in-law named Lynda, ( the "y" and the "i" help with identification).

Oh, and the other big song from the hit parade that year and undoubtedly the most popular, was a contribution by Gene Autry about a reindeer. I will say no more, except September 25th is Friday. I think my mother spent way too much time focusing on popular music and I am feeling restless, honk, honk.

The Visualizer, James Taylor and a Bad Photography Meme

2009-09-19T11:28:00.010-04:00

Monday September 21, 2009. Kathleen, at Easy for Me to Say and Derrick at Melrose Musings have isssued an invitation to post bad photography today. They are jointly hosting a meme to, "Simply dive into your digital dark room; flip through your photo album; or sort out your slides and extricate a photograph that didn't turn out quite as expected." to quote Derrick. So, I "invaded iphoto" and found these.

These aren't the worst photos I've ever taken, but among my very bad attempts, these few have an interesting story.

My computer has a visualizer. When you listen to itunes you can put the visualizer on and colorful lines will splash all over the screen in lovely patterns and in time to the music. At one point, I thought it would be fun to get a still photo capture of the moving line images to paint.

The line patterns in these pictures came with the song "You've Got A Friend" by James Taylor. So I was thinking, if I picked a favorite song, like the song you danced to at your wedding, visualized it, captured a photo, and painted the image, you could put it on your wall as the image of your wedding song, a romantic keepsake. At the time, it seemed like a viable idea.

The only trouble was that every time I tried to capture a photo of the song's image, the flash would burn a red circle into the picture. The other problem was removing the cursor. Consequently, I wound up with all these images, with the red flash circle burned in the centre and the black cursor messing up the page. Some pics even have the song title from the top of the screen.

The photo capture wasn't working out. I reasoned that the camera might eventually burn a flash image onto my computer screen permanently and destroy the screen. It was also difficult to remove the black cursor from the captured image, so I finally gave up the idea. The lines would have been real fussy to paint too. I never did it, but I kept the messed up photo images anyway, simply because the images looked "really different" and "sort of weird" in an interesting kind of way.

My contribution to bad photography, Enjoy.=D

Bitter Truths, Mark and Sarah Lulu

2009-09-15T10:34:00.006-04:00

Mark has a brilliant blog that makes me laugh every single day. Today he tried a meme with books and at the end he neglected to follow instruction number 5..... Tag five people. I tagged myself to help him out. He became involved in this meme from Sarah Lulu in Australia, who is such a sweet grandmotherly sort of person (you have to meet Matilda), and the combination was irresistible! The reason I volunteered for this mission today was because my closest book this morning was
"Horseradish, Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid" by Lemony Snicket (a.k.a. Daniel Handler). Although Mr. Snicket would deny it, (he likes to hide from the limelight) I met this author a few years back in Toronto. I have a picture and an autograph with a raised seal as proof. Like bitter truths, it is difficult to avoid memes if you blog.
As a volunteer then, one of five for Mark, here is my meme contribution.

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

Mr. Snicket, only includes one sentence per page through out most of his book "Horseradish", so I will cover a few pages including page 123.

From page 123,
"Having an aura of menace is like having a pet weasel, because you rarely meet someone who has one, and when you do it makes you want to hide under the coffee table."
From page 124,
"There are many difficult things in this world to hide, but a secret is not one of them."
From page 71,
"No matter who you are, no matter where you live, and no matter how many people are chasing you, what you don't read is often as important as what you do read."
From page 87
"Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them."
And finally from the back cover,
"Life is a turbulent journey, fraught with confusion, heartbreak and inconvenience. This book will not help."

It may not help, but Mr. Snicket certainly has an "off the wall" way of considering bitter truths. The bitter truth of this meme is that I am now at instruction 5 and like Mark, in his infinite wisdom, I will avoid instruction 5. If you read this blog and have a book you would like to share, let me know and I will visit your blog, read and consider it and leave a comment.

FRIDAY SHOOT OUT: OLD, WORN AND WEATHERED(except Barry=D)

2009-09-10T18:48:00.021-04:00

Play the music while you view the pictures...... A Last Walk Through the Summer Forest (music lasts for 3 trips)